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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · leaves · rule · land · chip · clip · mine · lash

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. hand — help
  3. clip — a video
  4. rule — a law
  5. chip — for betting
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. clip — for paper
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. mine — for digging
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. land — a country
  21. rule — government
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. chip — to eat
  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