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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. key — the most important part
  3. tube — a container
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. rest — a break
  6. club — for golf
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — tied together
  10. key — in music
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bound — obliged
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. club — for dancing
  17. rest — what's left
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wound — an injury
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. last — finally
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. club — a group

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