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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: arm · object · rest · prune · row · patient · wind · snap

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. rest — a break
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. wind — moving air
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. object — an aim
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. object — a thing
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — moving air
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. prune — to trim
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. object — to protest
  19. snap — to click
  20. rest — what's left
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. row — a line
  23. prune — to trim
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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