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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 120 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: arm · pound · chest · plane · mouse · patient · kid · tear

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. pound — a weight
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. chest — a box
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kid — child
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. chest — of your body

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