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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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. spring — of water
  4. current — happening now
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. march — the month
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. key — in music
  10. current — electric
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fall — to drop
  15. prune — to trim
  16. key — the most important part
  17. fall — to drop
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fall — the season
  22. current — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. pop — 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