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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. spring — a coil
  4. pitch — completely
  5. net — after costs
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. spring — the season
  10. band — a music group
  11. can — to be able to
  12. band — a ring
  13. season — of the year
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. spring — of water
  16. can — a tin
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. season — in sport
  20. can — a tin
  21. key — in music
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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