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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · cell · game · lash · mine · firm · march · chip

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. march — the month
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. chip — for betting
  6. firm — a company
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. march — music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. clip — a video
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mine — for digging
  17. clip — to cut
  18. firm — decided
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. game — wild animals
  23. march — the month
  24. firm — steady

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