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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — the most important part
  4. scale — size or range
  5. march — the month
  6. capital — a city
  7. march — the month
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. field — farmland
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rash — a series
  12. face — to point toward
  13. capital — money
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. key — in music
  16. face — part of the head
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. field — a subject
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. field — for sport
  21. scale — in music
  22. rash — hasty
  23. march — music
  24. face — to confront

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