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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 120 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: pit · race · arm · drill · chair · march · clip · patient

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. drill — the tool
  3. race — a contest
  4. march — the month
  5. race — the arms race
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. clip — a video
  9. race — humankind
  10. pit — a hole
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. clip — for paper
  13. drill — a practice
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. drill — army training
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. march — music
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. clip — to cut
  22. march — the month
  23. pit — in a race
  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