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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. track — a song
  3. spell — a short time
  4. march — music
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. track — a path
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — in music
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. file — a tool
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. spell — letters
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. lean — to bend
  16. track — to keep track
  17. march — the month
  18. spell — magic
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. march — the month
  22. lean — thin
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. key — the most important part

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