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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. rule — government
  3. season — in sport
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. key — for a lock
  6. stock — goods
  7. key — in music
  8. track — a path
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. press — a publisher
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. season — of the year
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cold — not warm
  17. track — a song
  18. cold — an illness
  19. press — to push
  20. rule — a law
  21. press — newspapers
  22. stock — shares
  23. face — to confront
  24. track — to keep track

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