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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. key — for a lock
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. key — in music
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — to crush
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. field — farmland
  12. key — the most important part
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. field — a subject
  15. staff — employees
  16. saw — the tool
  17. court — of law
  18. field — for sport
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. court — for sport
  22. saw — the tool
  23. staff — employees
  24. court — of a king

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