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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. spring — the season
  4. key — in music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. field — for sport
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. key — the most important part
  16. field — a subject
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. field — farmland

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