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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: race · shower · branch · cell · ground · arm · patient · chair

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cell — in biology
  5. ground — a position
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. race — humankind
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. ground — crushed
  10. shower — to wash
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cell — a phone
  15. branch — a division
  16. shower — rain
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. branch — of a tree

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