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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: bear · patient · temple · arm · capital · cold · club · stem

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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 — a sick person
  3. capital — a city
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cold — not warm
  9. club — a group
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. club — for golf
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bear — the animal
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. stem — to come from
  24. patient — a sick person

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