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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: patient · mine · club · content · lie · straw · chip · cap

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. lie — to recline
  4. content — happy
  5. cap — a lid
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. content — the amount
  9. chip — for betting
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. club — for golf
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cap — of ice
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chip — to eat
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. cap — a hat
  19. mine — for digging
  20. club — for dancing
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. chip — in a computer

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