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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 116 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — the most important part
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — a phone
  9. band — a music group
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. key — in music
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to point toward
  14. pass — a permit
  15. branch — a division
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. face — to confront
  24. saw — the tool

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