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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: bat · chip · ground · race · pitcher · patient · kid · rest

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rest — a break
  9. ground — the earth
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. ground — a position
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. race — humankind
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chip — for betting
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chip — to eat
  19. race — the arms race
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rest — what's left
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. race — a contest
  24. bat — the animal

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