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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. mine — for digging
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. mug — to rob
  5. bat — the animal
  6. track — a song
  7. track — a path
  8. mug — a face
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. clip — to cut
  11. key — the most important part
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. capital — a city
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. clip — a video
  21. mug — a cup
  22. key — for a lock
  23. capital — money
  24. track — to keep track

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