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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. key — the most important part
  4. branch — a division
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. key — in music
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — a law
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. mine — for digging
  15. hand — in cards
  16. file — a tool
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. file — a line of people
  19. staff — employees
  20. file — a document
  21. hand — help
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. branch — of a bank

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