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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. march — music
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spell — a short time
  8. lean — thin
  9. spell — letters
  10. key — for a lock
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. lean — to bend
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. spell — magic
  16. fork — in a road
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. key — in music
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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