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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 124 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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. spring — a coil
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. fall — to drop
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spring — of water
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. tube — a container
  16. lie — to recline
  17. key — in music
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. key — for a lock
  22. tube — the underground
  23. spring — the season
  24. fall — the season

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