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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 116 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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. press — newspapers
  3. press — a publisher
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — to bear
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spell — a short time
  11. key — for a lock
  12. game — a match
  13. march — the month
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. press — to push
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. row — a line
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. key — in music
  24. row — to paddle

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