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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. content — happy
  3. object — a thing
  4. chip — for betting
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. rest — what's left
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. content — the amount
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. clip — a video
  12. object — an aim
  13. clip — to cut
  14. branch — a division
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. object — to protest
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. chip — to eat
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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