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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.

Make a worksheet

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: key · spell · capital · fork · chair · bass · chest · sharp

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chair — a leader
  3. capital — money
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. key — the most important part
  10. chest — of your body
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. key — in music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. spell — a short time
  16. key — for a lock
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — letters
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. sharp — clever
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. capital — a city

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