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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. press — newspapers
  3. can — a tin
  4. cell — in biology
  5. face — to point toward
  6. can — a tin
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. face — to confront
  9. club — for golf
  10. key — for a lock
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cell — a phone
  13. can — to be able to
  14. press — to push
  15. press — a publisher
  16. prune — to trim
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for dancing
  19. field — farmland
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. key — in music
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. prune — to trim

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