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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 116 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: wind · mine · club · patient · fall · lie · ground · chip

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. fall — to drop
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. lie — to recline
  5. chip — to eat
  6. ground — a position
  7. club — for golf
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. club — for dancing
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. ground — the earth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — a group
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. fall — the season
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. chip — for betting
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ground — crushed
  24. patient — a sick person

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