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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: capital · game · lash · field · foot · rest · key · content

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. rest — what's left
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — the most important part
  7. rest — what's left
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rest — a break
  10. content — happy
  11. key — in music
  12. field — for sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. game — wild animals
  17. content — the amount
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. capital — money
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. foot — a measure
  24. game — a match

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