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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 116 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. fine — all right
  3. ball — a great time
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. march — the month
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. march — the month
  9. spring — a coil
  10. march — music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spring — the season
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spring — of water
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. hand — help
  18. ball — a dance
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. fine — high quality
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ground — the earth

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