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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. key — the most important part
  3. capital — money
  4. wound — an injury
  5. season — of the year
  6. key — in music
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. capital — a city
  10. rush — hurry
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. season — in sport
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. key — for a lock
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. wound — an injury

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