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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. kid — to tease
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. kid — child
  4. bark — to shout
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — shares
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. clip — for paper
  17. snap — to click
  18. chip — to eat
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — in a race
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. stock — goods
  23. clip — a video
  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