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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. chip — for betting
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. drill — the tool
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. date — the fruit
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. band — a ring
  12. drill — a practice
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cell — in biology
  15. clip — for paper
  16. stand — to bear
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cell — a phone
  21. band — a music group
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. drill — army training

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