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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: arm · pitch · firm · last · patient · row · chest · saw

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. chest — of your body
  5. firm — a company
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. row — to paddle
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. firm — steady
  12. firm — decided
  13. chest — a box
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chest — of your body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. last — finally
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. row — a line
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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