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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. key — in music
  7. capital — money
  8. key — the most important part
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. tube — the underground
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. vault — a safe
  14. chair — a leader
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. key — for a lock
  17. tube — a container
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cold — an illness
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cold — not warm
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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