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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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 — hurry
  3. spring — the season
  4. key — in music
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. key — for a lock
  10. spring — of water
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. season — of the year
  19. stock — shares
  20. perch — the fish
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. stock — goods

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