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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: nail · clip · patient · face · mate · game · chip · land

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. game — wild animals
  3. clip — a video
  4. face — part of the head
  5. land — to come down
  6. chip — for betting
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mate — a partner
  9. clip — to cut
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. mate — a friend
  15. face — to confront
  16. chip — to eat
  17. game — a match
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. land — a country
  20. face — to point toward
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. land — ground
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. mate — to breed

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