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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. march — the month
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bark — to shout
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. tube — a container
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. march — music
  17. clip — a video
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. march — the month
  20. key — for a lock
  21. season — of the year
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. key — in music
  24. season — in sport

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