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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. key — in music
  3. rock — music
  4. ground — crushed
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. key — for a lock
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. season — in sport
  12. capital — money
  13. rock — a stone
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — a thing
  16. capital — a city
  17. ground — the earth
  18. hand — help
  19. ground — a position
  20. hand — in cards
  21. key — the most important part
  22. object — an aim
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. season — of the year

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