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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 116 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 · cold · patient · sharp · straw · vault · kick · court

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. chip — for betting
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. vault — a safe
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — in football
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. court — of law
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. court — for sport
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. chip — to eat
  21. court — of a king
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. sharp — clever
  24. cold — not warm

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