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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. key — for a lock
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. march — the month
  9. hand — help
  10. kick — in football
  11. can — a tin
  12. march — the month
  13. bass — the fish
  14. key — the most important part
  15. spell — magic
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — a short time
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bass — low music
  22. march — music
  23. hand — in cards
  24. key — in music

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