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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: cold · chip · patient · wind · ruler · club

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. chip — to eat
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. chip — for betting
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. club — for golf

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