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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 120 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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. race — humankind
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cue — a signal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. capital — a city
  12. cue — for pool
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cue — a hint
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. chip — for betting
  20. clip — a video
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. race — a contest
  23. key — in music
  24. race — the arms race

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