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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tear — from crying
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. object — an aim
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. capital — money
  9. object — a thing
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. tear — to rip
  12. key — in music
  13. tube — a container
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tube — in a tire

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