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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: club · patient · squash · wound · capital · race · kid · chip

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. race — humankind
  4. chip — to eat
  5. capital — money
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. wound — an injury
  8. squash — to crush
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. race — the arms race
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chip — for betting
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wound — an injury
  20. capital — a city
  21. race — a contest
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. club — a group
  24. squash — the sport

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