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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 120 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. perch — the fish
  4. prune — to trim
  5. key — the most important part
  6. face — to point toward
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — the arms race
  9. tube — the underground
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. scale — size or range
  13. race — humankind
  14. face — to confront
  15. craft — a skill
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. tube — a container
  19. key — in music
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. race — a contest
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. scale — in music
  24. face — part of the head

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