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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. last — to go on
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. staff — employees
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to drill
  13. key — the most important part
  14. last — finally
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. pass — a permit
  17. plane — a tool
  18. staff — a stick
  19. last — final
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bore — to tire
  23. staff — employees
  24. key — in music

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