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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. mate — to breed
  3. craft — boats
  4. face — to confront
  5. key — for a lock
  6. face — part of the head
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. face — to point toward
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mate — a partner
  11. branch — a division
  12. stock — shares
  13. wind — moving air
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stock — goods
  19. key — in music
  20. craft — a skill
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. mate — a friend
  24. craft — a handicraft

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