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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. march — the month
  3. last — finally
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. fine — high quality
  8. key — for a lock
  9. fine — all right
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. march — the month
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. last — to go on
  14. net — in sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. net — for catching
  17. key — in music
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. net — after costs
  21. march — music
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. last — final
  24. fan — a supporter

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