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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bulb · game · cold · patient · land · hide · nail · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. land — to come down
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cold — an illness
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — a match
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. bulb — for light
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. bulb — for light
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cold — not warm
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. nail — for a hammer

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