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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 120 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mate — a partner
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. pop — soda
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pop — music
  11. hand — help
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pop — to visit
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — a position
  16. race — humankind
  17. mate — to breed
  18. key — for a lock
  19. ground — the earth
  20. mate — a friend
  21. last — final
  22. key — in music
  23. game — a match
  24. hand — in cards

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