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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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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 · wave · patient · file · prune · capital · chair · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. chip — to eat
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. drill — a practice
  5. capital — a city
  6. file — a line of people
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. file — a document
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chair — a leader
  13. file — a tool
  14. prune — to trim
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. drill — the tool
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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