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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — to point toward
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. face — part of the head
  11. field — farmland
  12. stem — to come from
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. key — in music
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bear — the animal
  19. key — for a lock
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bear — the animal
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. stem — of a plant

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