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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fine — all right
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. hand — help
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. scale — in music
  8. rush — hurry
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. chip — to eat
  13. scale — size or range
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. deal — to handle
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fine — high quality
  23. wake — a trail
  24. deal — a big deal

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