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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. pop — music
  3. field — a subject
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pop — to visit
  8. band — a ring
  9. rash — hasty
  10. field — for sport
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. band — a music group
  14. stem — to come from
  15. pop — soda
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. key — in music
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. field — farmland
  20. key — the most important part
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. drill — a practice
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. rash — a series

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