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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. can — a tin
  3. field — a subject
  4. shower — rain
  5. can — a tin
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. shower — to wash
  8. spring — the season
  9. bass — low music
  10. present — there
  11. bass — the fish
  12. spring — of water
  13. present — a gift
  14. spring — a coil
  15. key — for a lock
  16. field — farmland
  17. key — in music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — for sport
  21. present — the time now
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. perch — the fish
  24. can — to be able to

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