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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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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: capital · clip · stick · chip · chest · plane · nail · game

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chip — for betting
  3. capital — money
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. capital — a city
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chest — a box
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. game — a match
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. game — wild animals
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. plane — a tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. plane — in geometry

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