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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chair · arm · tube · patient · cell · spring · key · march

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cell — a phone
  4. tube — a container
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. key — in music
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. march — the month
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. march — the month
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. key — the most important part
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. chair — a leader
  20. march — music
  21. cell — in biology
  22. key — for a lock
  23. tube — the underground
  24. cell — in a prison

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