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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. band — a ring
  3. cell — a phone
  4. capital — money
  5. key — in music
  6. band — a music group
  7. clip — to cut
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cell — in biology
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. capital — a city
  17. clip — a video
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fine — high quality
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fine — all right
  22. key — for a lock
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cell — in a prison

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