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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: rule · squash · rash · last · wind · bat · patient · chip

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rule — government
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rash — hasty
  10. last — finally
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chip — for betting
  14. rule — a law
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rash — a series
  17. bat — the animal
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. last — to go on
  22. squash — to crush
  23. last — final
  24. chip — to eat

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