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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. drill — the tool
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. spring — a coil
  9. field — for sport
  10. spring — of water
  11. drill — army training
  12. field — farmland
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. board — to get on
  19. drill — a practice
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. field — a subject
  23. key — in music
  24. spring — the season

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