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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · rule · cell · key · bore · mate

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. mate — a friend
  3. march — music
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bore — to tire
  6. rule — a law
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to drill
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. mate — a partner
  12. cell — in biology
  13. march — the month
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — government
  16. key — in music
  17. cell — a phone
  18. march — the month

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