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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.

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: board · ruler · fork · key · tube · spring · land · capital

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. board — to get on
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. land — to come down
  5. tube — a container
  6. land — ground
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fork — in a road
  12. spring — the season
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. land — a country
  16. tube — the underground
  17. key — for a lock
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. board — a committee
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. key — in music
  24. fork — a garden tool

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