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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: patient · cap · squash · arm · staff · clip · pound · root

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. staff — employees
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cap — a hat
  10. clip — a video
  11. pound — a weight
  12. staff — a stick
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. root — of a plant
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. root — of a word
  17. staff — employees
  18. clip — to cut
  19. root — the cause
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. clip — for paper
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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