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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 120 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. chip — for betting
  8. clip — for paper
  9. land — a country
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. chip — to eat
  15. land — ground
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. land — to come down
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. ball — a dance
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — to dunk

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