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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. lean — to bend
  3. march — music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. key — in music
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. spring — of water
  13. chip — to eat
  14. spring — the season
  15. march — the month
  16. key — for a lock
  17. march — the month
  18. key — the most important part
  19. spring — a coil
  20. lean — thin
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. last — finally
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chip — for betting

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