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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: deal · lean · capital · bass · mine · nail · key · fan

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. key — in music
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. lean — thin
  10. deal — to handle
  11. capital — a city
  12. bass — the fish
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. capital — money
  18. bass — low music
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. lean — to bend
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — the most important part

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