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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: plane · key · clip · roll · capital · cue · craft · game

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. game — a match
  6. cue — a hint
  7. roll — a list
  8. cue — a signal
  9. clip — a video
  10. craft — a skill
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. capital — a city
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cue — for pool
  15. craft — boats
  16. key — in music
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — a tool
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. clip — for paper
  23. roll — a cake
  24. clip — to cut

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