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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. key — the most important part
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. key — for a lock
  7. content — the amount
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. press — a publisher
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pass — a permit
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. branch — a division
  18. mark — a trace
  19. press — to push
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. content — happy
  23. mark — a grade
  24. key — in music

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