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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. field — for sport
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stem — to come from
  7. perch — the fish
  8. key — for a lock
  9. capital — a city
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bulb — for light
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. capital — money
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. key — in music
  22. field — farmland
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. field — a subject

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