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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. key — for a lock
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. key — in music
  9. capital — a city
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. key — the most important part
  13. last — finally
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. chip — to eat
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. capital — money
  18. chip — for betting
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. clip — to cut
  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