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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. clip — to cut
  3. club — for golf
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. club — a group
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bore — to drill
  10. chip — for betting
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. clip — a video
  14. snap — to click
  15. land — ground
  16. clip — for paper
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. foot — a measure
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. land — to come down
  23. chip — to eat
  24. club — for dancing

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