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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 120 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: bat · sharp · patient · club · chip · rule · tear · branch

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. chip — for betting
  3. club — for golf
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. bat — the animal
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for dancing
  8. rule — a law
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rule — government
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. tear — from crying
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. branch — a division
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chip — to eat
  23. tear — from crying
  24. sharp — exactly

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