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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: march · game · patient · drill · staff · fall · bank · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. march — the month
  3. bank — for money
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fall — to drop
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — of a river
  9. fall — to drop
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. march — the month
  17. game — a match
  18. drill — a practice
  19. march — music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. game — wild animals
  23. drill — army training
  24. fall — the season

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