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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: hide · date · chip · cold · clip · bore · plane · snap

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. plane — a tool
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bore — to drill
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bore — to tire
  8. snap — to click
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cold — an illness
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. clip — to cut
  15. chip — for betting
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. date — the fruit
  23. clip — a video
  24. cold — not warm

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