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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. file — a line of people
  3. ground — crushed
  4. board — to get on
  5. key — for a lock
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. board — a committee
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. file — a tool
  11. ground — a position
  12. can — to be able to
  13. file — a document
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. can — a tin
  16. bore — to tire
  17. can — a tin
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cell — in biology
  22. key — in music
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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