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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 124 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. pass — a permit
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — for a lock
  9. net — in sport
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. root — of a word
  12. hand — in cards
  13. key — in music
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. net — after costs
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. root — of a plant
  21. scale — size or range
  22. root — the cause
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. spring — a coil

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