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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  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. wake — a trail
  3. chip — for betting
  4. ground — the earth
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bear — the animal
  9. kid — child
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. kid — to tease
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. plane — a tool
  14. ground — a position
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. club — for golf
  22. clip — a video
  23. bear — the animal
  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