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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. cold — not warm
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. band — a ring
  6. present — there
  7. net — after costs
  8. present — the time now
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. drill — the tool
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. present — a gift
  17. drill — army training
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. cold — an illness
  24. key — in music

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