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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 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. lean — thin
  3. race — humankind
  4. club — a group
  5. land — ground
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. land — to come down
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. race — a contest
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. club — for golf
  16. bat — the animal
  17. race — the arms race
  18. club — for dancing
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. land — a country
  21. date — the fruit
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — to eat
  24. lean — to bend

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