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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. march — the month
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. saw — the tool
  6. key — the most important part
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — completely
  12. key — for a lock
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. toast — bread
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cold — not warm
  20. march — the month
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cold — an illness
  23. march — music
  24. key — in music

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