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

Word bank: bound · capital · club · chip · cell · squash · stick · straw

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. chip — to eat
  3. cell — in biology
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — a group
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. club — for dancing
  10. capital — money
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bound — certain
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bound — tied together
  15. chip — for betting
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bound — obliged
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. capital — a city

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