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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: band · suit · deal · clip · chip · calf · field · cap

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. suit — in cards
  3. band — a ring
  4. cap — a hat
  5. field — farmland
  6. cap — of ice
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. suit — to fit
  9. clip — to cut
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. cap — a lid
  15. suit — clothes
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. field — for sport
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a music group
  21. clip — a video
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. field — a subject
  24. chip — for betting

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