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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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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: clip · nail · club · bear · wound · chip · land · calf

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. clip — to cut
  3. club — a group
  4. wound — an injury
  5. club — for dancing
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. land — to come down
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bear — the animal
  10. club — for golf
  11. wound — an injury
  12. land — ground
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. chip — for betting
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. chip — to eat
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. clip — a video

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