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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. club — for golf
  3. object — an aim
  4. key — for a lock
  5. hand — help
  6. club — a group
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. key — the most important part
  9. club — for dancing
  10. land — ground
  11. perch — the fish
  12. key — in music
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. object — a thing
  21. hand — in cards
  22. capital — money
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. object — to protest

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