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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: foot · snap · march · fan · chest · bore · capital · key

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. march — music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. foot — a measure
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bore — to drill
  10. chest — of your body
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. chest — a box
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. key — in music
  16. bore — to tire
  17. key — the most important part
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. march — the month
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. march — the month
  22. key — for a lock
  23. capital — a city
  24. fan — to cool the air

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