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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: content · saw · patient · craft · kid · ball · cue · arm

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  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. content — happy
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. kid — child
  4. cue — for pool
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. saw — the tool
  8. craft — boats
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. ball — a great time
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cue — a signal
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cue — a hint
  19. ball — a dance
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. content — the amount
  22. saw — the tool
  23. craft — a skill
  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