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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 120 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. file — a line of people
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. kick — in football
  7. file — a document
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. file — a tool
  13. rule — a law
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. rule — government
  16. shower — to wash
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. shower — rain
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. foot — a measure

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