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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: chest · clip · row · calf · arm · last · patient · firm

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. row — to paddle
  3. last — finally
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. last — to go on
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. clip — for paper
  15. firm — steady
  16. last — final
  17. row — a line
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. firm — decided
  20. firm — a company
  21. clip — to cut
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. clip — a video
  24. chest — a box

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