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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · patient · arm · last · deal · cell

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. 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. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cell — in biology
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. last — finally
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. last — final
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. last — to go on
  15. cell — a phone
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. 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