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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
468
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 · saw · content · key · bat · fine · craft · chest

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. chest — of your body
  4. key — for a lock
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. craft — boats
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fine — high quality
  10. content — the amount
  11. fine — all right
  12. capital — a city
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chest — a box
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. capital — money
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — a skill
  20. content — happy
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. key — in music

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