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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: wake · patient · chip · kid · rest · tear · pit · cell

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. kid — child
  3. rest — what's left
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wake — a trail
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. tear — to rip
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. chip — to eat
  16. tear — from crying
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. kid — to tease
  20. rest — a break
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. pit — in a race
  23. chip — for betting
  24. rest — what's left

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