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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: chip · clip · toast · field · wind · craft

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. field — farmland
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. chip — for betting
  6. wind — moving air
  7. craft — boats
  8. wind — moving air
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — a subject
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chip — to eat
  13. field — for sport
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. toast — bread
  18. craft — a skill

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