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

Word bank: chip · row · tear · cue · wind · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a hint
  6. tear — to rip
  7. row — a line
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chip — for betting
  13. cue — a signal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. row — to paddle
  16. chip — to eat
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tear — from crying

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