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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · saw · snap · capital · wake · key

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. capital — money
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. key — the most important part
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. key — for a lock
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. saw — the tool
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. key — in music
  18. wake — a trail

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