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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 were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. rock — a stone
  3. field — farmland
  4. shower — to wash
  5. track — a song
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. track — a path
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. stock — shares
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. field — for sport
  15. track — to keep track
  16. stock — goods
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — in music
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. field — a subject
  22. rock — music
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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