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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. drill — a practice
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cap — a hat
  10. drill — army training
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. capital — money
  13. cap — a lid
  14. march — the month
  15. capital — a city
  16. drill — the tool
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. key — in music
  22. key — for a lock
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cap — of ice

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