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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · race · chest · branch · wake · sharp · chip · game

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chest — of your body
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. race — humankind
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. sharp — clever
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. chest — of your body
  15. race — the arms race
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. chest — a box
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. branch — a division
  22. wake — a trail
  23. race — a contest
  24. sharp — with an edge

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