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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pop · charge · bass · squash · land · clip · chip · ball

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. squash — to crush
  3. charge — electricity
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. land — to come down
  7. pop — to visit
  8. charge — in control
  9. chip — for betting
  10. pop — music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. squash — the sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. charge — a price
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bass — low music
  18. pop — soda
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. clip — for paper
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. land — a country

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