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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. key — the most important part
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. capital — money
  5. mine — for digging
  6. drill — a practice
  7. snap — to click
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. suit — to fit
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. key — in music
  14. capital — a city
  15. suit — in cards
  16. squash — to crush
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. drill — the tool
  20. field — farmland
  21. squash — the sport
  22. drill — army training
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. key — for a lock

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