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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.

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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: chip · clip · temple · bark · firm · last · fine · current

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — a company
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. clip — a video
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. current — happening now
  8. firm — decided
  9. current — of water
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. clip — to cut
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. current — electric
  16. bark — to shout
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — for betting
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. clip — for paper
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. fine — a penalty

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