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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 · lean · ground · spell · chip · current · net · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lean — thin
  3. net — for catching
  4. spell — letters
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. spell — magic
  7. chip — to eat
  8. clip — for paper
  9. net — in sport
  10. current — of water
  11. ground — a position
  12. chip — for betting
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. spell — a short time
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. clip — to cut
  17. current — electric
  18. content — the amount
  19. ground — crushed
  20. current — happening now
  21. ground — the earth
  22. lean — to bend
  23. clip — a video
  24. net — after costs

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