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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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 — to go away
  3. bulb — for light
  4. net — after costs
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. file — a document
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — all right
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. net — for catching
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. bulb — for light
  20. key — in music
  21. file — a tool
  22. net — in sport
  23. file — a line of people
  24. last — final

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