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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bound — tied together
  4. key — the most important part
  5. last — final
  6. field — a subject
  7. bound — certain
  8. ground — the earth
  9. file — a document
  10. key — in music
  11. file — a tool
  12. last — finally
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. ground — a position
  16. file — a line of people
  17. can — a tin
  18. key — for a lock
  19. land — to come down
  20. field — farmland
  21. can — a tin
  22. field — for sport
  23. bound — obliged
  24. can — to be able to

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