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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: key · stem · wind · chair · mark · capital · ground · kick

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. key — for a lock
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. key — the most important part
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. mark — a grade
  7. stem — to come from
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mark — a trace
  11. ground — a position
  12. kick — in football
  13. capital — a city
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. key — in music
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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