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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. field — for sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. net — after costs
  12. rash — a series
  13. wake — a trail
  14. rash — hasty
  15. field — a subject
  16. net — for catching
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. net — in sport
  19. mug — a cup
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. key — in music
  22. mug — a face
  23. field — farmland
  24. rash — on the skin

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