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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. race — the arms race
  5. march — the month
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — music
  8. march — music
  9. cap — a lid
  10. key — the most important part
  11. race — humankind
  12. spring — the season
  13. game — a match
  14. march — the month
  15. key — in music
  16. spring — of water
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fine — high quality
  19. cap — of ice
  20. race — a contest
  21. cap — a hat
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. spring — a coil
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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