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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: kid · content · stand · arm · temple · patient · spring · craft

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. kid — to tease
  4. craft — a skill
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. content — the amount
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. kid — child
  11. spring — of water
  12. stand — to bear
  13. craft — boats
  14. spring — a coil
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. spring — the season
  24. craft — a handicraft

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