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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: shower · net · object · bat · capital · board · key · jam

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. board — a committee
  3. key — for a lock
  4. object — an aim
  5. key — the most important part
  6. object — to protest
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bat — the animal
  10. key — in music
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. object — a thing
  13. net — in sport
  14. board — to get on
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — rain
  17. net — after costs
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. capital — a city
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. capital — money

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