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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. key — in music
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. field — farmland
  11. bass — low music
  12. race — the arms race
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bass — the fish
  16. field — a subject
  17. toast — bread
  18. field — for sport
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. game — a match
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. key — for a lock
  24. deal — to handle

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