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

Word bank: hide · cell · rest · chip · field · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rest — what's left
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cell — in biology
  6. chip — to eat
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. clip — a video
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. field — a subject
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. rest — a break
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cell — a phone

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