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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 116 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. march — music
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — part of the head
  5. chip — for betting
  6. face — to point toward
  7. club — for dancing
  8. march — the month
  9. bat — the animal
  10. club — a group
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. chip — to eat
  13. hand — help
  14. content — the amount
  15. hand — in cards
  16. content — happy
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. club — for golf
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. object — a thing
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. march — the month
  24. object — an aim

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