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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: spring · key · chair · content · capital · lean · fan · bulb

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. chair — a leader
  4. key — in music
  5. capital — a city
  6. bulb — for light
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. capital — money
  17. bulb — for light
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. lean — to bend
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. content — the amount
  24. lean — thin

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