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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. chip — to eat
  3. pop — to visit
  4. clip — a video
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. current — of water
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chip — for betting
  9. pop — music
  10. march — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. clip — to cut
  13. content — the amount
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. game — wild animals
  16. current — happening now
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. current — electric
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — a match

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