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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. band — a ring
  3. net — for catching
  4. row — to paddle
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. net — after costs
  8. capital — money
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. ball — a great time
  12. capital — a city
  13. key — in music
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. band — a music group
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. chair — a leader
  24. net — in sport

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