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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. scale — in music
  3. march — the month
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. key — for a lock
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. scale — size or range
  10. key — the most important part
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fall — the season
  15. tear — from crying
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fall — to drop
  21. key — in music
  22. fall — to drop
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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