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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 124 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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. pitch — completely
  3. object — to protest
  4. hand — in cards
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hand — help
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. clip — to cut
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chip — to eat
  15. object — an aim
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chip — for betting
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. clip — a video

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