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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — boats
  6. pop — soda
  7. court — for sport
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. key — the most important part
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. key — for a lock
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. pop — music
  15. court — of law
  16. ground — the earth
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. key — in music
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. capital — a city
  21. court — of a king
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. ground — a position
  24. cabinet — ministers

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