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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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Word bank
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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: patient · row · content · clip · arm · current · land · pitch

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. land — a country
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. current — happening now
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. content — the amount
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. current — electric
  11. pitch — completely
  12. current — of water
  13. row — a line
  14. land — ground
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. row — to paddle
  17. clip — to cut
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. content — happy
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. land — to come down

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