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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: tear · plane · spring · sharp · patient · cold · suit · chip

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. suit — clothes
  3. plane — a tool
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chip — to eat
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. suit — in cards
  10. cold — not warm
  11. spring — a coil
  12. suit — to fit
  13. chip — for betting
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. tear — to rip
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cold — an illness
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spring — the season
  24. sharp — clever

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