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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · chip · kick · rule · clip · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — a law
  5. clip — to cut
  6. last — to go on
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. clip — a video
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. rule — government
  18. clip — for paper

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