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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.

Make a worksheet

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: firm · cold · bark · ground · capital · key · plane · jam

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. capital — a city
  7. key — in music
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. ground — a position
  12. firm — a company
  13. cold — an illness
  14. key — for a lock
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. capital — money
  17. firm — steady
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. firm — decided
  22. plane — a tool
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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