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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. rest — what's left
  3. capital — a city
  4. key — the most important part
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. wind — moving air
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. capital — money
  9. key — for a lock
  10. rest — what's left
  11. toast — bread
  12. clip — for paper
  13. chest — a box
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rest — a break
  16. current — happening now
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. current — of water
  20. clip — a video
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. current — electric
  24. clip — to cut

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