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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. charge — a price
  3. track — a song
  4. key — in music
  5. pop — soda
  6. spring — of water
  7. charge — electricity
  8. key — for a lock
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. track — to keep track
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. charge — in control
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. track — a path
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pop — to visit
  23. spring — the season
  24. pop — music

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