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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. key — in music
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. key — for a lock
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. cell — in biology
  12. file — a line of people
  13. row — to paddle
  14. file — a tool
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. band — a ring
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. file — a document
  21. press — to push
  22. press — a publisher
  23. row — a line
  24. press — newspapers

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