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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. saw — the tool
  3. stand — to bear
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. land — to come down
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. clip — to cut
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. chip — for betting
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. land — ground
  17. pitch — completely
  18. clip — a video
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. land — a country
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. saw — the tool
  24. prune — to trim

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