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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. key — the most important part
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bass — the fish
  6. capital — a city
  7. shower — rain
  8. bound — certain
  9. rule — government
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. season — of the year
  12. bound — obliged
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. season — in sport
  15. bass — low music
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. rule — a law
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bound — tied together
  20. key — in music
  21. capital — money
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. kick — in football
  24. key — for a lock

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