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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. chip — for betting
  5. spring — a coil
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. spring — the season
  9. chip — to eat
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spring — of water
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. saw — the tool

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