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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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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. march — music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. key — in music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — for paper
  10. net — after costs
  11. bulb — for light
  12. face — part of the head
  13. clip — a video
  14. wind — moving air
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. march — the month
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. face — to point toward
  23. pound — a weight
  24. face — to confront

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