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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 120 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 · drill · mouse · wound · file · last · chest · arm

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. wound — an injury
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. file — a document
  6. last — final
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. chest — of your body
  11. last — finally
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. chest — a box
  22. file — a tool
  23. drill — the tool
  24. arm — part of the body

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