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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. charge — a price
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — music
  10. game — wild animals
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. hand — help
  13. charge — electricity
  14. chip — to eat
  15. deal — to handle
  16. chip — for betting
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. charge — in control
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. game — a match

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