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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. capital — money
  3. key — for a lock
  4. root — the cause
  5. key — the most important part
  6. root — of a plant
  7. rock — music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. clip — for paper
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rock — a stone
  12. clip — a video
  13. court — of law
  14. content — the amount
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. court — of a king
  17. root — of a word
  18. capital — a city
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. court — for sport
  21. content — happy
  22. key — in music
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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