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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: can · chip · drill · bore · club · charge · clip · field

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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. charge — electricity
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. drill — army training
  5. bore — to tire
  6. charge — in control
  7. drill — a practice
  8. charge — a price
  9. field — farmland
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. field — a subject
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. club — for dancing
  15. can — a tin
  16. chip — to eat
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chip — for betting
  19. can — a tin
  20. club — for golf
  21. bore — to drill
  22. field — for sport
  23. club — a group
  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