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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. capital — money
  3. race — a contest
  4. pitch — completely
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bound — obliged
  7. band — a ring
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. scale — size or range
  10. band — a music group
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. capital — a city
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. bound — tied together
  18. race — the arms race
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. scale — in music
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. race — humankind
  23. hand — help
  24. bound — certain

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