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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. clip — a video
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. perch — the fish
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. key — in music
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. key — for a lock
  16. tear — to rip
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. capital — a city
  24. clip — to cut

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