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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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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: patient · can · bat · craft · pound · hand · chest · saw

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. can — a tin
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. craft — boats
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. pound — a weight
  19. hand — help
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bat — the animal
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  24. craft — a skill

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