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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spring — a coil
  4. clip — for paper
  5. spring — the season
  6. rest — a break
  7. track — a path
  8. race — the arms race
  9. track — a song
  10. key — for a lock
  11. clip — a video
  12. drill — a practice
  13. rest — what's left
  14. track — to keep track
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rest — what's left
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. race — a contest
  20. spring — of water
  21. race — humankind
  22. drill — army training
  23. key — the most important part
  24. coach — a trainer

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