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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. key — the most important part
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. key — in music
  5. capital — a city
  6. land — ground
  7. chest — a box
  8. land — a country
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. date — the fruit
  11. charge — electricity
  12. land — to come down
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. charge — a price
  15. charge — in control
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. march — the month
  18. capital — money
  19. march — the month
  20. chest — of your body
  21. march — music
  22. key — for a lock
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. capital — a big letter

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