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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bound — obliged
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — tied together
  13. key — the most important part
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wake — a trail
  18. capital — money
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wind — moving air
  21. content — the amount
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. content — happy
  24. bat — in an idiom

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