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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. last — to go on
  5. press — a publisher
  6. content — happy
  7. craft — a skill
  8. spring — a coil
  9. press — newspapers
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. press — to push
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. last — finally
  15. craft — boats
  16. drill — a practice
  17. last — final
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. key — in music
  22. land — to come down
  23. key — the most important part
  24. content — the amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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