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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: patient · board · drill · craft · land · pound · row · clip

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. clip — a video
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. craft — a skill
  5. board — a committee
  6. craft — boats
  7. row — a line
  8. land — to come down
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. drill — army training
  11. land — a country
  12. clip — to cut
  13. row — to paddle
  14. land — ground
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pound — a weight
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. clip — for paper

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