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

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. root — of a word
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wound — an injury
  8. root — the cause
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spring — of water
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. court — of a king
  13. wound — an injury
  14. root — of a plant
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. chip — for betting
  17. spring — the season
  18. kid — child
  19. cell — a phone
  20. spring — a coil
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. chip — in a computer

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