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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: deal · chip · snap · drill · clip · race · ball · fall

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chip — to eat
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — the arms race
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — the tool
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. deal — to handle
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. snap — to click
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. chip — for betting
  22. race — humankind
  23. drill — a practice
  24. clip — for paper

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