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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chip — to eat
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bear — the animal
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. clip — a video
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. chip — for betting
  14. season — in sport
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. march — the month
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. march — the month
  20. game — a match
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. march — music
  23. bear — the animal
  24. season — of the year

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