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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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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 · bound · bat · cold · chip · patient · foot · saw

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. craft — a skill
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. chip — for betting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bat — the animal
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. foot — a measure
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. craft — boats
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bound — obliged
  24. saw — the tool

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