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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. drill — a practice
  5. key — for a lock
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. key — the most important part
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. drill — the tool
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. drill — army training
  15. capital — a city
  16. pitch — completely
  17. rest — a break
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. rest — what's left
  20. band — a ring
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. key — in music
  23. bass — low music
  24. rest — what's left

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