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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: craft · patient · tube · lash · cold · field · mug · chip

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. tube — a container
  3. mug — a face
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mug — to rob
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. craft — a skill
  11. mug — a cup
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. field — farmland
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. chip — for betting
  21. tube — the underground
  22. field — for sport
  23. craft — boats
  24. chip — to eat

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