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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. march — the month
  4. season — in sport
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. key — for a lock
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. field — farmland
  11. season — of the year
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. root — of a word
  15. dip — to sink
  16. key — in music
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. field — for sport
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. field — a subject
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — the cause
  24. bat — the animal

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