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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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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: shower · kick · clip · chip · wave · cell · date · bowl

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cell — in biology
  4. chip — to eat
  5. date — the fruit
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. shower — to wash
  9. clip — for paper
  10. shower — rain
  11. clip — a video
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. kick — in football
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. clip — to cut
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. wave — of the sea

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