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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: cell · straw · hand · patient · arm · tear · spring · bay

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. spring — of water
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tear — to rip
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. spring — the season
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cell — a phone
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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