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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. ball — a great time
  3. key — in music
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. spring — the season
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. firm — steady
  9. key — the most important part
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. last — to go on
  12. firm — a company
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. last — finally
  16. firm — decided
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. last — final
  21. ball — a dance
  22. field — a subject
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. racket — for tennis

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