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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. foot — a measure
  6. field — for sport
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. rule — government
  11. chip — to eat
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. snap — to click
  16. field — a subject
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chip — for betting
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. rule — a law
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. field — farmland

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