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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: arm · drill · chip · straw · leaves · chest · pitcher · patient

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. drill — a practice
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. drill — the tool
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. chest — a box
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chip — to eat
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. chip — for betting
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. drill — army training

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