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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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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: mine · chip · field · drill · deal · suit · clip · tear

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. clip — to cut
  3. field — a subject
  4. suit — clothes
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. drill — a practice
  7. field — for sport
  8. tear — from crying
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. clip — a video
  11. drill — army training
  12. chip — for betting
  13. tear — from crying
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mine — for digging
  16. suit — to fit
  17. suit — in cards
  18. deal — to handle
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chip — to eat
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. deal — a big deal

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