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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. capital — money
  3. hand — in cards
  4. row — a line
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. sharp — clever
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — a stone
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — thin
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. key — in music
  17. hand — help
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. key — for a lock
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. capital — a city
  23. date — the fruit
  24. rock — to move gently

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