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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: chip · hide · patient · bat · kick · wind · spring · bay

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. spring — of water
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. spring — the season
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bat — the animal
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. chip — for betting
  24. wind — moving air

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