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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — a permit
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. club — for golf
  6. content — the amount
  7. capital — money
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. content — happy
  10. face — to confront
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. club — for dancing
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. capital — a city
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — to eat
  19. branch — a division
  20. face — to point toward
  21. club — a group
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. face — part of the head

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