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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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468
Word bank
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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. scale — in music
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — size or range
  6. file — a line of people
  7. key — in music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. file — a tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. row — a line
  13. rash — hasty
  14. wake — a trail
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. file — a document
  18. rash — a series
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. wake — before a funeral

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