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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. key — the most important part
  3. last — final
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. wake — a trail
  6. fine — all right
  7. net — in sport
  8. fine — high quality
  9. key — for a lock
  10. game — a match
  11. last — finally
  12. net — after costs
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. season — in sport
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. last — to go on
  18. vault — a safe
  19. net — for catching
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. season — of the year
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. key — in music

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