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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. net — after costs
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. scale — size or range
  9. net — for catching
  10. key — the most important part
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. last — final
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — to go on
  16. key — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wound — an injury
  22. last — finally
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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