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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — for golf
  5. chip — to eat
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — a list
  13. club — for dancing
  14. clip — for paper
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wound — an injury
  17. club — a group
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. clip — a video
  20. last — final
  21. snap — to click
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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