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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: bay · bound · clip · squash · snap · chip · field · ball

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. bound — tied together
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. clip — for paper
  8. snap — to click
  9. bound — certain
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bound — obliged
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. field — for sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. chip — to eat
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. chip — in a computer

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