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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. fine — all right
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. fine — high quality
  6. clip — to cut
  7. chip — to eat
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. clip — a video
  11. row — a line
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. chip — in a computer

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