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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: patient · sharp · hand · jam · kid · craft · arm · net

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. net — in sport
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. kid — to tease
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. hand — help
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. craft — a skill
  21. craft — boats
  22. hand — in cards
  23. kid — child
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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