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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. chip — for betting
  3. pop — music
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mine — for digging
  7. clip — a video
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. chip — to eat
  15. clip — for paper
  16. squash — the sport
  17. pop — soda
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. squash — to crush
  20. band — a ring
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. tube — a container

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