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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mug — to rob
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — a face
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rush — hurry
  11. key — for a lock
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. capital — a city
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. capital — money
  24. key — the most important part

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