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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. scale — size or range
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. race — a contest
  6. scale — in music
  7. key — for a lock
  8. rest — a break
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. race — humankind
  11. cell — in biology
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. key — in music
  21. cell — a phone
  22. game — a match
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bat — for baseball

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