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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: land · chip · lash · perch · clip · temple · hide · cap

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. land — ground
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. land — a country
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. land — to come down
  9. clip — a video
  10. cap — a lid
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. clip — for paper
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cap — a hat
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. perch — the fish
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cap — of ice

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