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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: pit · capital · arm · clip · patient · bound · march · chip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — for paper
  5. march — music
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. capital — a city
  9. clip — a video
  10. capital — money
  11. march — the month
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chip — to eat
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bound — certain

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