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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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468
Word bank
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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: chip · swing · rush · cold · patient · racket · file · scale

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. scale — size or range
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. scale — in music
  5. chip — for betting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. rush — hurry
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. swing — to play on
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. file — a line of people
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. swing — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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