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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. key — the most important part
  3. file — a tool
  4. plane — a tool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. track — to keep track
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — in music
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. track — a song
  13. can — to be able to
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. capital — money
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. track — a path
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wake — a trail
  20. capital — a city
  21. can — a tin
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

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