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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. shower — to wash
  4. last — to go on
  5. drill — the tool
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pass — a permit
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. perch — the fish
  11. drill — army training
  12. scale — size or range
  13. drill — a practice
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. key — for a lock
  16. chair — a leader
  17. shower — rain
  18. last — final
  19. scale — in music
  20. key — in music
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. last — finally

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