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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. key — for a lock
  3. capital — a city
  4. chest — of your body
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rule — government
  7. bank — of a river
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. key — in music
  11. row — a line
  12. rule — a law
  13. bank — for money
  14. chest — a box
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. race — a contest
  19. key — the most important part
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bank — for money
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. capital — money

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