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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.

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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 · clip · bark · cell · fall · arm · pound · charge

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fall — the season
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cell — in biology
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bark — to shout
  12. charge — in control
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. charge — electricity
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. charge — a price
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. clip — a video
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cell — a phone

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