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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. kid — to tease
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wound — an injury
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. craft — a skill
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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