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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. tube — the underground
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. key — in music
  5. tube — a container
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. shower — rain
  13. degree — temperature
  14. capital — money
  15. fall — the season
  16. object — a thing
  17. capital — a city
  18. key — for a lock
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. object — an aim
  21. degree — from a university
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. shower — to wash
  24. key — the most important part

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