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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. key — for a lock
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. swing — in golf
  5. key — in music
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bulb — for light
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. capital — money
  12. key — the most important part
  13. swing — music
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. swing — to play on
  19. spring — of water
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — the season
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. capital — a big letter

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