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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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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: swing · chip · object · land · patient · firm · squash · spring

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. swing — to play on
  3. spring — the season
  4. object — to protest
  5. land — to come down
  6. object — an aim
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. land — ground
  9. firm — steady
  10. squash — to crush
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. land — a country
  13. spring — of water
  14. swing — in golf
  15. firm — a company
  16. spring — a coil
  17. swing — music
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — to eat
  20. squash — the sport
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. object — a thing

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