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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 120 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. march — music
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. press — to push
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. spell — a short time
  10. hand — in cards
  11. capital — money
  12. spell — letters
  13. staff — employees
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. march — the month
  19. key — the most important part
  20. press — newspapers
  21. spell — magic
  22. march — the month
  23. press — a publisher
  24. key — in music

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