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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 · club · bat · kid · patient · cold · rule · deal

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. kid — to tease
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chip — for betting
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bat — the animal
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. club — for dancing
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. chip — to eat
  15. club — a group
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rule — a law
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rule — government
  23. club — for golf
  24. bat — for baseball

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