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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. pit — in a race
  5. key — for a lock
  6. drill — a practice
  7. scale — in music
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. last — final
  15. pit — a hole
  16. key — in music
  17. last — finally
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. drill — the tool
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. last — to go on
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. drill — army training

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