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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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 — music
  3. drill — a practice
  4. key — in music
  5. pit — in a race
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pit — a hole
  8. wound — an injury
  9. drill — army training
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a music group
  12. march — the month
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bear — the animal
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. spring — the season
  20. drill — the tool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. march — the month
  24. bear — to put up with

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