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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: patient · ball · clip · race · bat · drill · racket · sharp

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. clip — a video
  2. drill — army training
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ball — a great time
  7. race — humankind
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. drill — a practice
  13. clip — for paper
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bat — the animal
  16. race — a contest
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. ball — a dance
  19. clip — to cut
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. drill — the tool
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bat — for baseball
  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