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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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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: ground · bark · patient · march · chip · racket · clip · firm

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. clip — a video
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — decided
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. clip — for paper
  13. firm — steady
  14. bark — to shout
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. chip — for betting
  17. march — music
  18. ground — a position
  19. march — the month
  20. clip — to cut
  21. march — the month
  22. ground — crushed
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. ground — the earth

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