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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.

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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mine — for digging
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. key — for a lock
  6. rest — what's left
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ground — the earth
  10. scale — in music
  11. key — the most important part
  12. key — in music
  13. ground — a position
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. scale — for weighing

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