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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. key — in music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. file — a line of people
  5. capital — a city
  6. rash — hasty
  7. scale — in music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. row — a line
  10. file — a tool
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. key — for a lock
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. row — to paddle
  17. rash — a series
  18. bass — low music
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. scale — size or range
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. file — a document
  23. capital — money
  24. key — the most important part

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