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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: cell · straw · snap · clip · cap · ground · drill · chip

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. 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. snap — to click
  2. cap — of ice
  3. ground — crushed
  4. clip — a video
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. cell — in biology
  10. drill — a practice
  11. clip — to cut
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ground — the earth
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cap — a hat
  17. clip — for paper
  18. drill — army training
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. chip — to eat
  21. ground — a position
  22. chip — for betting
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. 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