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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: chair · lean · track · cell · tear · chip · snap · clip

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chip — to eat
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. clip — a video
  6. tear — to rip
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. lean — thin
  9. cell — a phone
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lean — to bend
  22. track — a path
  23. clip — for paper
  24. chair — a professorship

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