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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. mate — to breed
  5. capital — money
  6. cell — in biology
  7. dip — to sink
  8. key — for a lock
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mate — a partner
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bound — certain
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bound — tied together
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. key — in music
  23. cell — a phone
  24. dip — a sauce

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