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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. tube — a container
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. game — a match
  6. race — a contest
  7. spring — the season
  8. key — for a lock
  9. race — the arms race
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pit — in a race
  12. spring — of water
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. plane — a tool
  15. key — in music
  16. race — humankind
  17. pit — a hole
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. tube — the underground
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. game — wild animals

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