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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: club · net · mine · key · coach · straw · capital · spell

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. net — in sport
  8. key — the most important part
  9. club — for dancing
  10. spell — letters
  11. key — in music
  12. spell — magic
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. net — for catching
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. capital — a city
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. spell — a short time
  20. capital — money
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. key — for a lock
  24. net — after costs

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