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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. snap — to click
  10. sharp — clever
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. mine — for digging
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. chip — for betting
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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