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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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 — for a lock
  3. bark — to shout
  4. rock — music
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. rock — a stone
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. present — there
  16. present — the time now
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. face — to confront
  19. key — in music
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. present — a gift
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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