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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. land — to come down
  3. wind — moving air
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wind — moving air
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. prune — to trim
  12. key — for a lock
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. land — ground
  15. key — in music
  16. craft — boats
  17. wake — a trail
  18. craft — a skill
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stand — to bear
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. land — a country
  24. stand — on your feet

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