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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: bound · ground · track · patient · chip · tear · kid · ruler

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bound — tied together
  3. track — to keep track
  4. ground — crushed
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bound — certain
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. ground — the earth
  14. track — a song
  15. ground — a position
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. track — a path
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bound — obliged
  23. chip — to eat
  24. tear — to rip

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