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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
468
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 · press · coach · hide · arm · perch · content · game

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. press — newspapers
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. perch — the fish
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. press — a publisher
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. press — to push
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. game — wild animals

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