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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 116 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. drill — army training
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — in music
  6. bank — of a river
  7. tube — a container
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. capital — money
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bank — for money
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. capital — a city
  15. bank — for money
  16. chair — a leader
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. key — the most important part
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. kid — child
  24. bat — in an idiom

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