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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bark — to shout
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. game — a match
  6. chip — to eat
  7. kid — child
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. clip — a video
  15. pass — a permit
  16. game — wild animals
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chip — for betting

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