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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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468
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: racket · squash · cell · field · clip · chip · dip · can

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. can — to be able to
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — for betting
  6. field — a subject
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. field — for sport
  11. cell — a phone
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. can — a tin
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chip — to eat
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to sink
  21. field — farmland
  22. cell — in biology
  23. can — a tin
  24. clip — to cut

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