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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 120 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. game — wild animals
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. capital — a city
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. game — a match
  12. key — in music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. capital — money
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. key — for a lock

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