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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: chip · fine · bay · squash · pit · clip · band · court

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. clip — a video
  3. squash — to crush
  4. chip — to eat
  5. fine — high quality
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. clip — to cut
  8. court — for sport
  9. squash — the sport
  10. pit — a hole
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. band — a music group
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — in a race
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chip — for betting
  19. fine — all right
  20. court — of law
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. court — of a king
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — a horse colour

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