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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chest — of your body
  7. clip — a video
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. row — to paddle
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. race — a contest
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. row — a line
  21. hand — help
  22. clip — to cut
  23. hand — in cards
  24. row — a quarrel

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