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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: chip · fine · pound · dip · land · snap · game · clip

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. land — to come down
  5. snap — to click
  6. chip — to eat
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. land — ground
  13. fine — all right
  14. dip — to sink
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. clip — to cut
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. clip — a video
  19. chip — for betting
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. fine — high quality
  22. clip — for paper
  23. land — a country
  24. dip — to dunk

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