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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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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 · chip · wound · club · mouse · tear · dip · staff

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. tear — from crying
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. club — for golf
  5. wound — an injury
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. clip — a video
  12. chip — to eat
  13. tear — from crying
  14. staff — a stick
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. staff — employees
  18. dip — to sink
  19. club — for dancing
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wound — an injury
  24. staff — employees

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