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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. field — for sport
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. cell — in biology
  6. field — farmland
  7. bat — the animal
  8. toast — bread
  9. cap — a hat
  10. field — a subject
  11. cap — of ice
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. prune — to trim
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. key — in music
  24. toast — the most admired

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