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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. key — the most important part
  3. club — for golf
  4. key — for a lock
  5. spring — a coil
  6. scale — size or range
  7. ground — crushed
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. club — a group
  10. race — humankind
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. spring — of water
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. ground — a position
  17. scale — in music
  18. key — in music
  19. spring — the season
  20. race — a contest
  21. ground — the earth
  22. club — for dancing
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. race — the arms race

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