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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: chip · bay · bat · mine · scale · rule · chest · patient

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chest — a box
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. scale — in music
  8. mine — for digging
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. scale — size or range
  17. rule — government
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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