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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. track — to keep track
  3. clip — for paper
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. key — the most important part
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. land — ground
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. clip — a video
  12. key — in music
  13. land — to come down
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. land — a country
  17. pass — a permit
  18. track — a path
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. clip — to cut
  23. track — a song
  24. bowl — to roll

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