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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. march — the month
  4. key — for a lock
  5. face — to confront
  6. key — the most important part
  7. drill — army training
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. current — happening now
  11. tube — a container
  12. key — in music
  13. march — the month
  14. current — electric
  15. rock — a stone
  16. current — of water
  17. face — to point toward
  18. drill — the tool
  19. face — part of the head
  20. march — music
  21. drill — a practice
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. cell — a phone

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