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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. hand — in cards
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. roll — a list
  6. kid — child
  7. key — for a lock
  8. chip — to eat
  9. key — in music
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rash — a series
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. key — the most important part
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wound — an injury
  18. roll — a cake
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hand — help
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. rash — hasty

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