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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: swing · arm · date · bore · patient · cue · chair · game

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cue — a signal
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cue — a hint
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. swing — music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cue — for pool
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. chair — a leader
  18. game — a match
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. swing — to play on
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. arm — a part of something
  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