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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. chip — for betting
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. chest — of your body
  9. object — to protest
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. object — an aim
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. capital — a city
  19. rush — hurry
  20. object — a thing
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. foot — a measure
  23. capital — money
  24. foot — part of the body

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