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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: craft · wind · pit · key · capital · mug · squash · court

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. court — of a king
  6. key — for a lock
  7. capital — money
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. craft — boats
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. mug — a cup
  13. key — the most important part
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mug — a face
  17. wind — moving air
  18. key — in music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pit — in a race
  21. craft — a skill
  22. pit — a hole
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. wind — to turn a key

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