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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. track — a song
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tube — a container
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. track — to keep track
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. tube — the underground
  11. track — a path
  12. chip — to eat
  13. hand — help
  14. chip — for betting
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. clip — for paper
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. scale — in music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. clip — a video
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. scale — size or range

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