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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pitch — completely
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rest — a break
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. race — the arms race
  17. key — for a lock
  18. rest — what's left
  19. key — in music
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — a contest
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. bowl — a football 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