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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. capital — a city
  6. key — the most important part
  7. capital — money
  8. key — for a lock
  9. clip — to cut
  10. club — for golf
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. firm — decided
  13. clip — for paper
  14. game — a match
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. firm — a company
  19. club — for dancing
  20. key — in music
  21. firm — steady
  22. game — wild animals
  23. club — a group
  24. clip — a video

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