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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.

Words on the sheet
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: land · spell · net · chip · fork · bore · clip · patient

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. land — a country
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to tire
  5. net — after costs
  6. bore — to drill
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chip — for betting
  9. spell — a short time
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. spell — letters
  15. net — in sport
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. net — for catching
  19. clip — a video
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. spell — magic
  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