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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. key — for a lock
  4. game — a match
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. band — a music group
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. vault — a safe
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. press — newspapers
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. band — a ring
  16. game — wild animals
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. fork — in a road
  20. date — the fruit
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. key — in music
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. patient — a sick person

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