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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: patient · spell · tear · chip · mug · club · kid · row

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. mug — to rob
  6. club — for dancing
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. spell — a short time
  12. tear — from crying
  13. kid — child
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. kid — to tease
  16. chip — to eat
  17. club — a group
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mug — a face
  20. tear — to rip
  21. mug — a cup
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. club — for golf

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