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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. chip — for betting
  5. clip — a video
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. march — the month
  8. date — the fruit
  9. march — music
  10. toast — bread
  11. stock — shares
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. cap — a lid
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cap — a hat
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. stock — goods
  21. cap — of ice
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. march — the month
  24. chip — to eat

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