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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — completely
  4. key — for a lock
  5. file — a tool
  6. pop — music
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pop — to visit
  9. key — in music
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. file — a document
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. pop — soda
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. field — for sport
  21. file — a line of people
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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