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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 116 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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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: drill · board · rule · patient · race · perch · swing · mine

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. perch — the fish
  5. swing — music
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. swing — to play on
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. race — the arms race
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. drill — a practice
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. board — a committee
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rule — a law
  19. race — humankind
  20. board — to get on
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. race — a contest
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. drill — the tool

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