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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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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. squash — to crush
  4. march — the month
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. ground — the earth
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. land — to come down
  15. march — the month
  16. chip — to eat
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ground — a position
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. sharp — clever
  23. march — music
  24. patient — a sick person

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