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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  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. chip — in a computer
  2. clip — to cut
  3. land — ground
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. land — a country
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. land — to come down
  8. last — final
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. clip — for paper
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. can — a tin
  17. chair — a leader
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. clip — a video
  20. can — to be able to
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. chip — to eat
  23. can — a tin
  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