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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. club — for golf
  3. staff — employees
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. key — for a lock
  6. club — for dancing
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. capital — money
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. key — in music
  14. staff — employees
  15. mark — a trace
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. prune — to trim
  18. club — a group
  19. prune — to trim
  20. capital — a city
  21. mark — a grade
  22. staff — a stick
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. pitcher — a jug

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