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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. chest — of your body
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. rash — a series
  5. chest — a box
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bat — the animal
  8. firm — decided
  9. chip — for betting
  10. season — in sport
  11. chip — to eat
  12. firm — steady
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — to come from
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. firm — a company
  23. season — of the year
  24. stem — a stem cell

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