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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spell · chip · kid · row · cell · patient

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spell — letters
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cell — a phone
  5. spell — magic
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. spell — a short time
  8. chip — for betting
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. cell — in biology
  15. row — a line
  16. chip — to eat
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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