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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. land — a country
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. chip — to eat
  9. roll — a cake
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bear — the animal
  14. squash — to crush
  15. season — in sport
  16. clip — a video
  17. roll — a list
  18. clip — for paper
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bear — the animal
  22. foot — a measure
  23. chip — for betting
  24. season — of the year

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