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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: net · pitch · bound · key · content · object · capital · shower

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. content — happy
  5. bound — tied together
  6. object — a thing
  7. capital — a city
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. capital — money
  11. net — for catching
  12. object — to protest
  13. bound — obliged
  14. net — after costs
  15. bound — certain
  16. net — in sport
  17. key — the most important part
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. object — an aim
  20. key — in music
  21. content — the amount
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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