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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 116 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: dip · scale · chip · prune · fan · clip · field · drill

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. drill — a practice
  3. chip — to eat
  4. prune — to trim
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. field — for sport
  9. chip — for betting
  10. clip — a video
  11. drill — the tool
  12. prune — to trim
  13. clip — for paper
  14. scale — in music
  15. clip — to cut
  16. field — a subject
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. dip — to sink
  19. scale — size or range
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. field — farmland
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. drill — army training
  24. fan — a supporter

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