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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  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. capital — a city
  2. pop — music
  3. bat — the animal
  4. toast — bread
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. key — for a lock
  7. rule — a law
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. key — the most important part
  12. rule — government
  13. capital — money
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chip — for betting
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. chip — to eat
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. pop — soda
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. key — in music
  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