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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. tear — to rip
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. ground — crushed
  7. current — electric
  8. ground — a position
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. ground — the earth
  12. fall — the season
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — of water
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pit — in a race
  18. key — in music
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. tear — from crying
  24. key — for a lock

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