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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: clip · perch · foot · wind · chip · date · nail · ground

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. date — the fruit
  4. wind — moving air
  5. clip — for paper
  6. ground — a position
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. chip — for betting
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. ground — crushed
  17. perch — the fish
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chip — to eat
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. foot — a measure
  23. ground — the earth
  24. clip — to cut

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