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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: deal · chip · snap · drill · clip · race

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. chip — for betting
  3. race — humankind
  4. deal — to handle
  5. clip — for paper
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. chip — to eat
  8. drill — army training
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. race — the arms race
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. drill — the tool
  13. race — a contest
  14. clip — a video
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. clip — to cut
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. drill — a practice

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