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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. craft — boats
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. last — to go on
  5. file — a tool
  6. key — in music
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. last — finally
  10. key — for a lock
  11. fall — to drop
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. craft — a skill
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. land — a country
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fall — the season
  23. file — a document
  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