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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 124 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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. clip — to cut
  5. last — to go on
  6. rule — a law
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. last — finally
  9. pound — a weight
  10. rule — government
  11. march — the month
  12. key — for a lock
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. key — in music
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. clip — a video
  17. march — the month
  18. last — final
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. march — music
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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