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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 116 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. scale — in music
  3. key — for a lock
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. band — a music group
  6. clip — a video
  7. kid — to tease
  8. last — finally
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. last — final
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mine — for digging
  15. key — the most important part
  16. clip — to cut
  17. last — to go on
  18. scale — size or range
  19. bulb — for light
  20. band — a ring
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. kid — child

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