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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: press · chest · ball · chip · clip · land · charge · spell

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. clip — for paper
  3. land — ground
  4. spell — a short time
  5. chest — a box
  6. press — a publisher
  7. spell — letters
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. clip — a video
  11. ball — a great time
  12. charge — electricity
  13. press — newspapers
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. charge — a price
  16. clip — to cut
  17. charge — in control
  18. ball — a dance
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spell — magic
  21. chip — for betting
  22. land — a country
  23. press — to push
  24. land — to come down

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