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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. file — a tool
  5. craft — a skill
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. key — the most important part
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. file — a document
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. game — a match
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. key — in music
  20. key — for a lock
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. capital — money
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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