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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. key — the most important part
  3. wake — a trail
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. last — to go on
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. key — in music
  10. rash — a series
  11. last — final
  12. rash — hasty
  13. last — finally
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. drill — army training
  17. mine — for digging
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. drill — the tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. drill — a practice
  23. key — for a lock
  24. march — the month

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