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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. season — in sport
  4. key — for a lock
  5. press — newspapers
  6. lean — to bend
  7. saw — the tool
  8. key — in music
  9. staff — employees
  10. march — the month
  11. staff — employees
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lean — thin
  17. saw — the tool
  18. march — music
  19. season — of the year
  20. cold — an illness
  21. march — the month
  22. staff — a stick
  23. press — to push
  24. press — a publisher

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