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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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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. object — to protest
  3. charge — electricity
  4. object — an aim
  5. face — to point toward
  6. charge — in control
  7. content — the amount
  8. chip — to eat
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. charge — a price
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. content — happy
  14. face — to confront
  15. capital — a city
  16. chip — for betting
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. face — part of the head
  23. capital — money
  24. content — videos and posts

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