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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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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: patient · chip · land · pitcher · cap · bat · race · bark

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. land — ground
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. race — humankind
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. land — to come down
  9. cap — a hat
  10. race — a contest
  11. chip — to eat
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. race — the arms race
  14. chip — for betting
  15. land — a country
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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