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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ball — a dance
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. land — ground
  10. ball — a great time
  11. land — a country
  12. capital — money
  13. key — the most important part
  14. club — for dancing
  15. key — in music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. key — for a lock
  18. chest — a box
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for golf
  22. land — to come down
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitcher — a jug

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