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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  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 — for paper
  2. land — to come down
  3. kid — child
  4. clip — a video
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. root — the cause
  7. pound — a weight
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pop — to visit
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. pop — soda
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. land — a country
  15. kid — to tease
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. bank — for money
  19. land — ground
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bank — of a river
  22. pop — music
  23. bank — for money
  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