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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. capital — a city
  4. board — to get on
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. track — a song
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. drill — the tool
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. key — in music
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. board — a committee
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. roll — a cake
  18. drill — army training
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pit — a hole
  22. capital — money
  23. roll — a list
  24. track — a path

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