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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: rash · last · clip · tube · spring · cap · season · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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. cap — a hat
  4. tube — a container
  5. last — finally
  6. clip — a video
  7. last — to go on
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. season — in sport
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. chip — for betting
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. cap — a lid
  16. season — of the year
  17. last — final
  18. spring — the season
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. clip — to cut
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cap — of ice
  24. tube — the underground

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