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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: deal · staff · present · spring · clip · wind · chip · season

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. clip — a video
  3. chip — to eat
  4. present — there
  5. season — in sport
  6. clip — to cut
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. staff — employees
  9. spring — the season
  10. chip — for betting
  11. clip — for paper
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. staff — employees
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. present — a gift
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. present — the time now
  21. wind — moving air
  22. staff — a stick
  23. season — of the year
  24. spring — of water

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