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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cap — of ice
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. key — the most important part
  5. net — for catching
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — in music
  8. cap — a lid
  9. file — a document
  10. net — after costs
  11. file — a line of people
  12. branch — a division
  13. court — for sport
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — a hole
  16. court — of law
  17. pit — in a race
  18. net — in sport
  19. cap — a hat
  20. squash — to crush
  21. court — of a king
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. file — a tool
  24. branch — of a bank

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