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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. march — music
  6. cell — a phone
  7. present — there
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. present — a gift
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. present — the time now
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. key — for a lock
  16. march — the month
  17. rule — government
  18. bat — the animal
  19. march — the month
  20. key — in music
  21. capital — a city
  22. rule — a law
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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