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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 116 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. key — the most important part
  3. spring — of water
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. key — for a lock
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. pass — a permit
  10. fork — in a road
  11. spring — the season
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — to handle
  14. field — a subject
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. field — for sport
  22. key — in music
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. field — farmland

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