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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. scale — in music
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. scale — size or range
  9. net — for catching
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. key — in music
  12. file — a document
  13. key — for a lock
  14. roll — a cake
  15. file — a tool
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. march — the month
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. roll — a list
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. file — a line of people
  24. scale — for weighing

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