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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. net — in sport
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. face — part of the head
  6. mine — for digging
  7. face — to confront
  8. net — after costs
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. race — humankind
  11. spring — the season
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. key — in music
  15. net — for catching
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. race — a contest
  18. spring — of water
  19. bark — to shout
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. spring — a coil
  23. key — for a lock
  24. face — to point toward

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