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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. game — a match
  5. kick — in football
  6. land — a country
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chip — for betting
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. charge — in control
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. game — wild animals
  13. land — to come down
  14. charge — a price
  15. band — a music group
  16. chip — to eat
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. charge — electricity
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. land — ground
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. game — a kind of play

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