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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. pit — a hole
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — there
  5. key — the most important part
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. march — the month
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. drill — a practice
  10. key — for a lock
  11. march — music
  12. file — a tool
  13. capital — money
  14. lean — to bend
  15. drill — the tool
  16. pit — in a race
  17. march — the month
  18. file — a document
  19. capital — a city
  20. present — the time now
  21. file — a line of people
  22. lean — thin
  23. drill — army training
  24. lean — to rest against

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