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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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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: rock · cabinet · tear · pit · key · capital · scale · cell

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. tear — from crying
  7. scale — size or range
  8. key — the most important part
  9. pit — a hole
  10. capital — a city
  11. pit — in a race
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. capital — money
  15. cell — in biology
  16. tear — to rip
  17. scale — in music
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. rock — a stone
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. key — in music
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rock — music

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