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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. key — in music
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. file — a tool
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. file — a document
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pitch — completely
  13. file — a line of people
  14. sharp — clever
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. key — for a lock
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. squash — to crush
  22. cold — not warm
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cold — an illness

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