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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. lie — to recline
  8. pop — soda
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. rash — a series
  12. drill — army training
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. land — ground
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. land — a country
  17. drill — the tool
  18. pop — to visit
  19. drill — a practice
  20. chip — for betting
  21. land — to come down
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. clip — for paper
  24. chip — to eat

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