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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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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: tube · wind · key · capital · kid · toast · pitch · chair

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. pitch — completely
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. key — for a lock
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. tube — a container
  8. key — the most important part
  9. kid — child
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wind — moving air
  14. key — in music
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. chair — a leader
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. toast — bread
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. tube — the underground
  24. chair — a professorship

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