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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cell — a phone
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bound — obliged
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. capital — a city
  11. content — happy
  12. bound — certain
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. hand — help
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cell — in biology
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. chip — to eat
  24. content — the amount

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