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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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. last — final
  4. suit — in cards
  5. scale — size or range
  6. suit — to fit
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. land — to come down
  9. last — finally
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. board — a committee
  12. pop — music
  13. last — to go on
  14. suit — clothes
  15. scale — in music
  16. pop — soda
  17. bass — low music
  18. pop — to visit
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. land — a country
  21. bass — the fish
  22. key — in music
  23. land — ground
  24. board — to get on

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