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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ground · clip · chip · nail · wave · chest · drill · season

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. ground — the earth
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chip — for betting
  6. ground — crushed
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. season — of the year
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. clip — a video
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. season — in sport
  14. chip — to eat
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. drill — army training
  19. clip — to cut
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. clip — for paper

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