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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. key — the most important part
  6. spring — of water
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. last — finally
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. row — a line
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. branch — a division
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. row — to paddle
  21. craft — boats
  22. spring — the season
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spring — a coil

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