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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. object — a thing
  3. field — farmland
  4. band — a ring
  5. field — for sport
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. lie — to recline
  8. object — to protest
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. key — in music
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — for digging
  14. current — of water
  15. current — electric
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. current — happening now
  18. bulb — for light
  19. band — a music group
  20. object — an aim
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bulb — for light
  23. field — a subject
  24. key — the most important part

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