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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. key — for a lock
  4. scale — in music
  5. key — in music
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. scale — size or range
  9. chair — a leader
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. key — the most important part
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rule — government
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. toast — bread
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. field — for sport
  20. snap — to click
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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