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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: pitcher · clip · rule · field · band · swing · chip · roll

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. clip — for paper
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. swing — in golf
  10. field — a subject
  11. clip — a video
  12. chip — for betting
  13. band — a ring
  14. roll — a cake
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. field — for sport
  18. swing — to play on
  19. band — a music group
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. rule — a law
  22. roll — a list
  23. swing — music
  24. field — farmland

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