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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: wake · patient · nail · chest · bat · hide · chip · net

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. chest — a box
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. wake — a trail
  8. net — in sport
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bat — the animal
  11. net — after costs
  12. chip — for betting
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. chip — to eat
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. chest — of your body
  24. hide — animal skin

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