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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — in music
  3. pit — a hole
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. spring — of water
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pit — in a race
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wake — a trail
  15. spring — the season
  16. key — for a lock
  17. spring — a coil
  18. band — a ring
  19. tear — to rip
  20. band — a music group
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. race — a contest
  24. band — a rubber band

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