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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: straw · patient · rash · arm · roll · cell · pitch · race

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. rash — a series
  4. roll — a cake
  5. cell — a phone
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. race — a contest
  8. roll — a list
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. race — humankind
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. rash — hasty
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pitch — completely
  24. cell — in biology

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