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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. key — the most important part
  2. chest — a box
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. ground — a position
  5. march — the month
  6. key — for a lock
  7. ground — crushed
  8. cap — of ice
  9. key — in music
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. march — music
  13. cap — a hat
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. march — the month
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. ground — the earth
  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