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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bat — the animal
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. row — a line
  10. rush — hurry
  11. key — the most important part
  12. key — for a lock
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. capital — a city
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. key — in music
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. capital — money

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