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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. saw — the tool
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. file — a document
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. file — a line of people
  8. key — the most important part
  9. saw — the tool
  10. last — final
  11. cap — a hat
  12. club — a group
  13. last — finally
  14. bass — low music
  15. last — to go on
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. club — for dancing
  20. cap — of ice
  21. file — a tool
  22. bass — the fish
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cap — a lid

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