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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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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 · track · bat · dip · spring · capital · bear · staff

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. track — a path
  3. key — for a lock
  4. track — to keep track
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. track — a song
  11. staff — employees
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bat — the animal
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. key — the most important part
  16. staff — employees
  17. capital — money
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. staff — a stick
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. spring — the season
  22. key — in music
  23. spring — of water
  24. bear — the animal

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