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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: bass · mug · cell · arm · cold · field · lash · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cell — a phone
  4. field — for sport
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mug — a cup
  9. bass — low music
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. cold — not warm
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — to rob
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. field — farmland
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. field — a subject
  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