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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: ball · chip · wound · tear · pop · fork · rule · patient

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. chip — to eat
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rule — government
  16. chip — for betting
  17. rule — a law
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pop — soda
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pop — music

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