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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: key · bound · chair · game · capital · sharp · rash · tear

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rash — hasty
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. capital — money
  12. key — the most important part
  13. bound — certain
  14. capital — a city
  15. key — in music
  16. bound — obliged
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. sharp — clever
  20. rash — a series
  21. bound — tied together
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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