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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — hasty
  3. clip — a video
  4. hand — help
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. deal — to handle
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. land — to come down
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. suit — in cards
  12. chip — to eat
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. chip — for betting
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. suit — clothes
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. fork — in a road
  22. rash — a series
  23. suit — to fit
  24. chip — in a computer

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