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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. stock — goods
  6. fine — all right
  7. march — the month
  8. key — for a lock
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. clip — for paper
  11. march — the month
  12. cold — not warm
  13. clip — a video
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — to tire
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. fork — in a road
  19. stock — shares
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. march — music
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. key — in music
  24. cold — an illness

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