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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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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 · net · race · swing · drill · clip · chip · bore

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. swing — to play on
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — a contest
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. net — for catching
  7. bore — to drill
  8. clip — for paper
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — in sport
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bore — to tire
  13. clip — to cut
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. clip — a video
  18. swing — in golf
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. swing — music
  21. drill — army training
  22. race — humankind
  23. chip — to eat
  24. bore — gave birth

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