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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. file — a document
  3. key — in music
  4. file — a line of people
  5. key — the most important part
  6. squash — to crush
  7. branch — a division
  8. spring — of water
  9. squash — the sport
  10. file — a tool
  11. net — after costs
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. spring — a coil
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. spring — the season
  17. key — for a lock
  18. net — for catching

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