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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: clip · mine · row · chip · leaves · wave · wind · dip

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. dip — to sink
  6. chip — to eat
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. row — a line
  13. mine — for digging
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wind — moving air
  19. clip — a video
  20. chip — for betting
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. clip — to cut

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