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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. fine — all right
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. fine — high quality
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. key — in music
  13. craft — boats
  14. bear — the animal
  15. key — for a lock
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stem — to come from
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. craft — a skill
  24. row — a line

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