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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. key — for a lock
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. key — in music
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. key — the most important part
  8. last — final
  9. rash — a series
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wind — moving air
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pitch — completely
  14. rash — hasty
  15. last — finally
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. capital — a city
  18. board — a committee
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. last — to go on
  21. board — to get on
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. game — a match

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