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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. drill — the tool
  3. track — a song
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. present — there
  7. march — music
  8. file — a document
  9. key — in music
  10. present — the time now
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. file — a line of people
  13. drill — a practice
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. track — to keep track
  16. march — the month
  17. content — happy
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. march — the month
  20. file — a tool
  21. content — the amount
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. drill — army training
  24. present — a gift

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