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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. spell — magic
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cell — in biology
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spell — letters
  11. chip — for betting
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kid — to tease
  15. clip — a video
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. row — a line
  18. clip — to cut
  19. kid — child
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. clip — for paper
  24. row — a quarrel

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