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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 116 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: capital · deal · key · content · lie · pitch · game · ruler

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. key — in music
  3. key — for a lock
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. capital — a city
  7. content — happy
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. key — the most important part
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. lie — to recline
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. game — wild animals
  15. capital — money
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. game — a match
  23. deal — to handle
  24. content — the amount

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