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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 116 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. squash — the sport
  4. capital — a city
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. staff — employees
  8. mate — a friend
  9. capital — money
  10. mate — to breed
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chip — to eat
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. squash — to crush
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. mate — a partner
  19. fall — to drop
  20. key — the most important part
  21. staff — a stick
  22. chip — for betting
  23. game — wild animals
  24. staff — employees

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