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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bound — certain
  4. stock — shares
  5. bound — tied together
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — money
  10. key — in music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bound — obliged
  15. stock — goods
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wind — moving air
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. capital — a city
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. key — for a lock

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