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

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. land — ground
  4. press — to push
  5. band — a music group
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. key — in music
  8. land — a country
  9. press — a publisher
  10. land — to come down
  11. capital — money
  12. band — a ring
  13. press — newspapers
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. capital — a city
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. key — for a lock
  18. coach — pulled by horses

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