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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. key — the most important part
  3. spring — the season
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pit — a hole
  9. key — in music
  10. cold — an illness
  11. present — a gift
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. present — there
  16. key — for a lock
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. court — for sport
  19. spring — a coil
  20. present — the time now
  21. pit — in a race
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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