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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. chip — to eat
  5. race — a contest
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. chip — for betting
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. race — humankind
  13. capital — money
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. fork — in a road
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. capital — a city
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pitch — completely

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