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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. key — for a lock
  3. cap — a hat
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. spell — letters
  8. chair — a leader
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. key — in music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. spell — magic
  14. cap — a lid
  15. key — the most important part
  16. mate — a friend
  17. capital — money
  18. mate — to breed
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. mate — a partner
  22. capital — a city
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cap — of ice

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