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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: pound · cold · fall · scale · kid · squash · patient · chip

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chip — to eat
  3. squash — the sport
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chip — for betting
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. squash — to crush
  15. fall — the season
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. kid — child
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fall — to drop
  24. scale — size or range

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