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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. drill — army training
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. scale — size or range
  10. drill — the tool
  11. rest — what's left
  12. key — in music
  13. march — music
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. scale — in music
  20. saw — the tool
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. drill — a practice

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