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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 shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. chest — of your body
  3. key — the most important part
  4. mark — a trace
  5. key — in music
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fine — all right
  12. key — for a lock
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ground — the earth
  15. spring — of water
  16. mark — a grade
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — a coil
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. spring — the season
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. fine — a penalty

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