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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: roll · chair · patient · present · swing · cold · cap · arm

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. swing — to play on
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cold — not warm
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cold — an illness
  7. present — there
  8. present — a gift
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. roll — a list
  12. swing — music
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a cake
  20. cap — a hat
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. present — the time now
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. arm — a part of something

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