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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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Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. capital — a city
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. key — for a lock
  6. can — a tin
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. band — a music group
  9. file — a document
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. key — in music
  12. band — a ring
  13. sharp — clever
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wound — an injury
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wound — an injury
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. capital — money
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. key — the most important part

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