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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: wound · net · fine · clip · bear · court · chip · lean

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. court — for sport
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. lean — thin
  8. chip — for betting
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bear — the animal
  13. net — after costs
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lean — to bend
  16. net — in sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — all right
  20. clip — for paper
  21. court — of law
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. net — for catching
  24. wound — an injury

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