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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: fork · chip · plane · drill · file · bat · rule · patient

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. chip — to eat
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. rule — government
  6. plane — a tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a tool
  14. bat — the animal
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chip — for betting
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. rule — a law
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. drill — army training
  24. file — a document

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