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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: arm · bat · patient · rest · kid · firm · spring · plane

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. kid — child
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. firm — a company
  8. rest — a break
  9. kid — to tease
  10. plane — a tool
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spring — of water
  15. rest — what's left
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. firm — steady
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. spring — a coil
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. spring — the season

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