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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spell — magic
  6. chip — to eat
  7. mate — to breed
  8. spell — letters
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mate — a partner
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. spell — a short time
  14. clip — for paper
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. scale — in music
  23. clip — a video
  24. scale — for weighing

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