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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 120 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. mark — a trace
  3. present — the time now
  4. rule — government
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. file — a tool
  7. capital — a city
  8. present — a gift
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. key — for a lock
  12. mark — a grade
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. present — there
  15. rule — a law
  16. capital — money
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. key — in music
  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