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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: kid · rush · chip · bay · degree · date · ball · clip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. kid — child
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. degree — temperature
  8. clip — a video
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. kid — to tease
  15. ball — a great time
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rush — hurry
  19. date — the fruit
  20. chip — for betting
  21. clip — for paper
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. date — on the calendar

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