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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. land — to come down
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chip — for betting
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chip — to eat
  14. land — ground
  15. tear — from crying
  16. land — a country
  17. bat — the animal
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cap — a lid
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. row — a line
  22. cap — a hat
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. safe — out of danger

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