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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: chip · row · rock · face · drill · clip · pitcher · rash

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. face — to confront
  3. rash — a series
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. row — a line
  9. face — part of the head
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. row — to paddle
  14. chip — to eat
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rock — a stone
  20. face — to point toward
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rock — music

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