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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. firm — decided
  4. drill — army training
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. court — for sport
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. squash — the sport
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. date — the fruit
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. key — in music
  15. court — of a king
  16. squash — to crush
  17. firm — steady
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. kick — in football
  21. key — the most important part
  22. firm — a company
  23. court — of law
  24. key — for a lock

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