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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: drill · mark · clip · chip · wound · race · hand · deal

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. drill — the tool
  3. clip — a video
  4. chip — to eat
  5. race — humankind
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. race — a contest
  8. chip — for betting
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. mark — a trace
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. drill — a practice
  13. hand — help
  14. wound — an injury
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — to cut
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. clip — for paper
  22. drill — army training
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. race — the arms race

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