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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: chest · fine · cold · bear · kick · arm · patient · pit

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cold — an illness
  3. kick — in football
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. pit — in a race
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. fine — high quality
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. fine — all right
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pit — a hole
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. patient — a sick person

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