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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · suit · cold · sharp · capital · band · chip · swing

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. swing — music
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. suit — to fit
  5. swing — to play on
  6. sharp — clever
  7. clip — a video
  8. capital — money
  9. cold — not warm
  10. suit — in cards
  11. capital — a city
  12. clip — for paper
  13. suit — clothes
  14. chip — for betting
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. swing — in golf
  18. band — a music group
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chip — to eat
  21. clip — to cut
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. cold — an illness
  24. sharp — exactly

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