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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. last — to go on
  3. spring — the season
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. ground — a position
  6. spring — of water
  7. land — a country
  8. roll — a cake
  9. land — ground
  10. mate — a partner
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. last — finally
  14. mate — a friend
  15. key — in music
  16. mate — to breed
  17. ground — crushed
  18. spring — a coil
  19. land — to come down
  20. ground — the earth
  21. roll — a list
  22. key — for a lock
  23. date — the fruit
  24. last — final

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