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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. last — final
  4. craft — boats
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. last — to go on
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bass — low music
  12. cold — not warm
  13. lie — to recline
  14. key — in music
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. craft — a skill
  18. rush — hurry
  19. bass — the fish
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. last — finally
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lie — an untruth

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