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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 · patient · kick · field · fine · pit · deal · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. drill — a practice
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. field — for sport
  5. clip — to cut
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. pit — in a race
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. field — a subject
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — high quality
  16. kick — in football
  17. pit — a hole
  18. field — farmland
  19. clip — a video
  20. drill — army training
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. drill — the tool
  24. deal — to handle

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