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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 116 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. last — final
  3. file — a document
  4. chip — for betting
  5. pop — soda
  6. rash — hasty
  7. clip — for paper
  8. last — to go on
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. hand — help
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. clip — a video
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pop — to visit
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. last — finally
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rash — a series
  23. file — a tool
  24. pop — music

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