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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: chest · pop · nail · capital · club · tear · dip · key

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — money
  3. pop — soda
  4. club — for golf
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. chest — of your body
  9. club — a group
  10. capital — a city
  11. tear — from crying
  12. key — for a lock
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. chest — a box
  21. dip — to sink
  22. tear — to rip
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — in music

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