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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: chip · hand · scale · hide · clip · race · season · roll

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. season — of the year
  3. hand — help
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. race — humankind
  6. roll — a cake
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. clip — for paper
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chip — for betting
  12. hand — in cards
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. scale — in music
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. season — in sport
  18. clip — to cut
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. clip — a video
  23. scale — size or range
  24. roll — a list

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