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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. land — ground
  5. chair — a leader
  6. capital — money
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. key — in music
  9. pound — a weight
  10. chip — to eat
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. key — for a lock
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chip — for betting
  21. capital — a city
  22. land — a country
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. land — to come down

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