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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. court — of law
  4. chest — of your body
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. court — of a king
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. court — for sport
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. tube — the underground
  19. chest — a box
  20. tube — a container
  21. chest — of your body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. drill — army training
  24. arm — a part of something

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