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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. cue — a hint
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. land — a country
  7. present — there
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. fine — high quality
  10. scale — size or range
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — for pool
  14. land — to come down
  15. chip — to eat
  16. present — the time now
  17. kid — child
  18. land — ground
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — to tease
  21. scale — in music
  22. chip — for betting
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. present — a gift

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