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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: clip · wax · rest · land · band · chip · kid · can

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. band — a ring
  3. rest — a break
  4. band — a music group
  5. land — a country
  6. can — to be able to
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. kid — to tease
  10. land — ground
  11. kid — child
  12. clip — for paper
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rest — what's left
  17. can — a tin
  18. chip — to eat
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. clip — a video
  21. wax — to grow
  22. can — a tin
  23. land — to come down
  24. rest — what's left

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