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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. chip — to eat
  4. snap — to click
  5. club — for golf
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. scale — size or range
  12. land — ground
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. club — for dancing
  15. scale — in music
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. club — a group
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. net — in sport
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. chip — for betting

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