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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: snap · chip · rush · patient · clip · mouse · dip · cell

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. rush — hurry
  3. cell — a phone
  4. chip — to eat
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. clip — for paper
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. cell — in biology
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. snap — to click
  18. chip — for betting
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. clip — a video
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. rush — to hurry

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