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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: charge · suit · wind · chest · saw · patient · chip · cold

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cold — not warm
  3. chest — of your body
  4. suit — to fit
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. cold — an illness
  7. charge — in control
  8. suit — clothes
  9. chip — for betting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wind — moving air
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. chest — a box
  18. suit — in cards
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — a price
  22. chip — to eat
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chest — of your body

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