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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: dip · capital · mate · rash · craft · wax · clip · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. craft — a skill
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mate — a partner
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mate — a friend
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. rash — a series
  14. chip — for betting
  15. clip — a video
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wax — to grow
  19. capital — a city
  20. dip — to sink
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — hasty
  23. capital — money
  24. craft — boats

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