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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — the time now
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. field — a subject
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bat — the animal
  13. field — for sport
  14. chest — a box
  15. bulb — for light
  16. present — there
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. chest — of your body
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. chest — of your body
  22. field — farmland
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bat — in an idiom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com