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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 120 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: wave · key · capital · last · cell · drill

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. cell — a phone
  3. drill — the tool
  4. key — for a lock
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. last — final
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. last — finally
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. key — the most important part
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. key — in music
  17. drill — army training
  18. last — to go on

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