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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. key — the most important part
  3. track — a song
  4. key — for a lock
  5. drill — the tool
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. track — a path
  8. branch — a division
  9. drill — army training
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. key — in music
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. present — the time now
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wind — moving air
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. present — there
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. present — a gift
  22. track — to keep track
  23. date — the fruit
  24. wind — moving air

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