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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bore — to drill
  6. pop — soda
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bore — to tire
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. fine — high quality
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fine — all right
  16. key — in music
  17. field — for sport
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pop — music
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. spring — a coil
  24. prune — the fruit

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