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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. key — in music
  3. present — the time now
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. pitch — completely
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. key — the most important part
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. key — for a lock
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. present — a gift
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. spring — of water
  19. mark — a trace
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spring — a coil
  22. present — there
  23. chip — for betting
  24. perch — for a bird

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