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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. key — the most important part
  3. staff — employees
  4. charge — electricity
  5. fine — all right
  6. bass — low music
  7. staff — employees
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. charge — in control
  11. key — in music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bass — the fish
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. key — for a lock
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. staff — a stick
  21. scale — in music
  22. charge — a price
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. march — the month

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