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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 116 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — the most important part
  4. capital — a city
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. wind — moving air
  11. drill — army training
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bound — certain
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stand — to bear
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bound — obliged
  24. drill — the tool

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