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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. pitch — completely
  11. mine — for digging
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. row — to paddle
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mate — a partner
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. branch — a division
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mate — a friend
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. mate — to breed
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. row — a line
  24. chip — to eat

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