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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. bass — the fish
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. clip — for paper
  6. prune — to trim
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. clip — a video
  10. chip — to eat
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. hand — in cards
  15. clip — to cut
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bass — low music
  23. ball — a great time
  24. hand — help

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