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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: wax · arm · chest · pitcher · bound · season · patient · chip

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wax — to grow
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. season — of the year
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chest — of your body
  14. season — in sport
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chest — a box
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bound — tied together
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. wax — for sculpting

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