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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: last · toast · chip · board · bark · clip · arm · spell

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. clip — to cut
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. last — to go on
  6. chip — to eat
  7. spell — letters
  8. bark — to shout
  9. last — final
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. clip — a video
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. toast — bread
  18. clip — for paper
  19. board — a committee
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. board — to get on
  22. spell — magic
  23. chip — for betting
  24. spell — a short time

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