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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. lean — thin
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. stand — to bear
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wind — moving air
  11. march — the month
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. hand — help
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. hand — in cards
  18. lean — to bend
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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