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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chip — to eat
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cue — a signal
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. bark — to shout
  7. firm — a company
  8. capital — a city
  9. cue — for pool
  10. firm — decided
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. firm — steady
  14. ground — a position
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. capital — money
  18. chip — for betting
  19. ground — crushed
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cue — a hint

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