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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. key — in music
  3. field — for sport
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pop — soda
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — the most important part
  9. capital — money
  10. shower — rain
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. field — a subject
  14. pop — music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. can — a tin
  17. capital — a city
  18. pop — to visit
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. field — farmland
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mark — a trace
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — to be able to

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