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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. date — the fruit
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. track — a song
  5. key — in music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. season — of the year
  9. cell — in biology
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. track — a path
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bat — the animal
  14. season — in sport
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. track — to keep track
  17. deal — to handle
  18. roll — a cake
  19. roll — a list
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. key — for a lock
  24. bat — in an idiom

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