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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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wind — moving air
  4. object — an aim
  5. key — in music
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. stem — to come from
  8. key — for a lock
  9. present — there
  10. season — in sport
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. kick — in football
  14. shower — rain
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. present — the time now
  18. object — to protest
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. present — a gift
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. object — a thing
  23. season — of the year
  24. wind — moving air

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