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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. march — the month
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. race — the arms race
  5. degree — an amount
  6. file — a line of people
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. key — for a lock
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. march — music
  11. race — humankind
  12. vault — a safe
  13. march — the month
  14. degree — temperature
  15. file — a tool
  16. shower — rain
  17. present — a gift
  18. key — in music
  19. file — a document
  20. shower — to wash
  21. race — a contest
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. degree — from a university

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