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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: arm · prune · bat · mine · patient · wave · content · staff

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. staff — employees
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. prune — to trim
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. staff — employees
  9. bat — the animal
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. staff — a stick
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. prune — to trim
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. content — the amount
  24. mine — an explosive

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