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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. shower — to wash
  3. clip — a video
  4. race — humankind
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pop — soda
  7. key — in music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wax — to grow
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. rest — what's left
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pop — music
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — a series
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. shower — rain
  19. key — for a lock
  20. rest — a break
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — a contest
  23. rest — what's left
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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