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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bat — the animal
  4. hand — help
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. chip — to eat
  7. object — to protest
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chip — for betting
  11. object — an aim
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. clip — to cut
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. hand — part of the body

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