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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: pound · kid · chip · craft · swing · dip · object · clip

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. craft — a skill
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. clip — to cut
  6. craft — boats
  7. chip — to eat
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. clip — a video
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. swing — music
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. object — to protest
  14. swing — in golf
  15. kid — child
  16. clip — for paper
  17. swing — to play on
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. object — a thing
  20. chip — for betting
  21. pound — a weight
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. object — an aim
  24. chip — in a computer

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