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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. capital — a city
  3. court — of a king
  4. branch — a division
  5. last — finally
  6. perch — the fish
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. last — final
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. can — to be able to
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. last — to go on
  14. court — for sport
  15. key — in music
  16. court — of law
  17. key — for a lock
  18. can — a tin
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. can — a tin
  21. key — the most important part
  22. capital — money
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pass — to spend time

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