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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. key — in music
  3. key — the most important part
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. track — a song
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. capital — money
  8. squash — the sport
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pit — in a race
  11. track — a path
  12. capital — a city
  13. field — a subject
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pit — a hole
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. stand — to bear
  19. game — a match
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. track — to keep track
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. game — wild animals
  24. key — for a lock

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