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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: arm · last · track · mouse · ground · patient · clip · hand

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. ground — the earth
  5. track — to keep track
  6. ground — crushed
  7. hand — in cards
  8. track — a path
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. clip — a video
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. clip — to cut
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. last — finally
  21. ground — a position
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. track — a song
  24. clip — for paper

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