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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. key — for a lock
  8. mine — for digging
  9. current — electric
  10. wind — moving air
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wind — moving air
  14. current — happening now
  15. key — the most important part
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. current — of water
  18. track — a path
  19. club — a group
  20. key — in music
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — for dancing
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. track — a song

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