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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 120 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wound — an injury
  3. key — in music
  4. pit — in a race
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. land — ground
  11. pop — soda
  12. land — a country
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. capital — money
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wound — an injury
  19. key — for a lock
  20. land — to come down
  21. pit — a hole
  22. capital — a city
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — to visit

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