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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fine — all right
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — a stone
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. key — for a lock
  8. present — the time now
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. present — a gift
  14. key — the most important part
  15. scale — in music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wound — an injury
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. present — there
  20. fine — high quality
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — the animal

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