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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: patient · arm · racket · craft · perch · kid · stock · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — boats
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. perch — the fish
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. arm — part of the body
  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