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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 116 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: field · fall · court · patient · deal · rule · chip · clip

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. court — of law
  3. chip — for betting
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. clip — a video
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rule — government
  11. chip — to eat
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. clip — for paper
  21. court — of a king
  22. field — farmland
  23. court — for sport
  24. deal — an agreement

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