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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: toast · clip · kid · swing · chip · bear · saw · stand

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bear — the animal
  5. swing — in golf
  6. stand — to bear
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. swing — music
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. chip — for betting
  13. swing — to play on
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. kid — child
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bear — the animal
  18. clip — a video
  19. toast — bread
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. chip — to eat
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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