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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. last — finally
  4. key — for a lock
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bound — certain
  7. field — a subject
  8. tear — to rip
  9. net — after costs
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. net — for catching
  13. key — in music
  14. craft — boats
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — obliged
  17. field — for sport
  18. tear — from crying
  19. field — farmland
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. tear — from crying
  23. court — of law
  24. net — in sport

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