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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: bore · pop · chip · tear · current · kid · deal · clip

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. pop — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. current — happening now
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. kid — to tease
  7. clip — for paper
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bore — to drill
  10. clip — a video
  11. kid — child
  12. tear — from crying
  13. current — electric
  14. chip — to eat
  15. current — of water
  16. pop — soda
  17. deal — to handle
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. pop — to visit
  21. tear — to rip
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bore — gave birth

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