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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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Word bank
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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. game — a match
  3. chest — of your body
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. key — in music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. swing — music
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. swing — to play on
  13. fine — high quality
  14. saw — the tool
  15. swing — in golf
  16. chest — of your body
  17. key — the most important part
  18. fine — all right
  19. capital — money
  20. key — for a lock
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. saw — past of 'see'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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