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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. key — the most important part
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rock — music
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. plane — a tool
  7. key — in music
  8. capital — a city
  9. lean — thin
  10. key — for a lock
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. capital — money
  14. land — ground
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. land — a country
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. land — to come down
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. rest — what's left
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rock — a stone

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