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

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. bound — certain
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bound — obliged
  9. clip — a video
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — in sport
  14. chip — to eat
  15. bound — tied together
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. chip — for betting
  18. coach — a trainer

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