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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. ball — a great time
  3. capital — a city
  4. branch — a division
  5. tube — a container
  6. swing — to play on
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. key — in music
  11. key — the most important part
  12. tube — the underground
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. capital — money
  15. mine — for digging
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. prune — to trim
  18. swing — music
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. ball — a dance
  21. swing — in golf
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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