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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 120 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: bay · clip · chip · spell · ball · snap · drill · cold

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. chip — for betting
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chip — to eat
  8. spell — magic
  9. clip — for paper
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. clip — a video
  13. drill — army training
  14. cold — an illness
  15. spell — letters
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. ball — a dance
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. clip — to cut
  23. snap — to click
  24. drill — a practice

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