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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. key — in music
  3. scale — in music
  4. present — there
  5. scale — size or range
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. squash — the sport
  9. capital — money
  10. present — a gift
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pitch — completely
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. ground — a position
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. key — for a lock
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. key — the most important part
  19. squash — to crush
  20. present — the time now
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bat — the animal
  24. ground — the earth

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