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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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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: game · patient · pound · arm · cabinet · kid · bat · staff

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bat — the animal
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. kid — child
  14. staff — a stick
  15. kid — to tease
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pound — a weight
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. game — a match
  22. staff — employees
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. arm — part of the 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