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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. key — the most important part
  3. game — a match
  4. row — a line
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bound — certain
  8. bank — for money
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bank — of a river
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bank — for money
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bound — obliged
  19. game — wild animals
  20. key — for a lock
  21. bound — tied together
  22. key — in music
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. snap — to click

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