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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: hand · firm · tear · patient · cabinet · swing · row · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. firm — steady
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. chip — for betting
  6. firm — decided
  7. tear — from crying
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hand — in cards
  10. tear — from crying
  11. row — to paddle
  12. hand — help
  13. swing — to play on
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. firm — a company
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. tear — to rip
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. row — a line
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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