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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. band — a ring
  5. clip — a video
  6. chip — for betting
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. chip — to eat
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. march — the month
  13. rush — hurry
  14. fall — the season
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fall — to drop
  17. march — music
  18. stand — to bear
  19. fall — to drop
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. march — the month
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  24. rush — a thrill

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