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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. key — the most important part
  4. capital — a city
  5. mug — a cup
  6. roll — a list
  7. capital — money
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — in music
  10. rest — what's left
  11. branch — a division
  12. rest — what's left
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. rest — a break
  18. mug — to rob
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. roll — a cake
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pitch — completely
  24. roll — on a roll

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