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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 120 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: pit · key · row · lie · mine · capital · club · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. club — a group
  3. key — for a lock
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. club — for golf
  7. pit — a hole
  8. capital — a city
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. key — in music
  11. row — a line
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. key — the most important part
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. capital — money
  16. row — to paddle
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. pit — in a race
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. club — for dancing

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