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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.

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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: rush · track · drill · arm · wound · clip · bore · chip

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. rush — hurry
  3. chip — to eat
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. track — a song
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. track — to keep track
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. drill — the tool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bore — to tire
  14. track — a path
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chip — for betting
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bore — to drill
  19. drill — army training
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. clip — a video
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. drill — a practice

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