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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spring · suit · fork · capital · chest · hand · land · key

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. chest — of your body
  3. land — a country
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. suit — clothes
  9. chest — a box
  10. capital — a city
  11. land — to come down
  12. spring — of water
  13. chest — of your body
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — in music
  16. land — ground
  17. spring — the season
  18. capital — money
  19. suit — to fit
  20. spring — a coil
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. fork — in a road
  24. suit — in cards

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