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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: spell · pop · file · key · chest · scale · tear · last

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. key — the most important part
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spell — a short time
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pop — soda
  7. key — for a lock
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. chest — a box
  10. scale — size or range
  11. last — to go on
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. tear — from crying
  18. file — a tool
  19. last — final
  20. key — in music
  21. last — finally
  22. file — a document
  23. chest — of your body
  24. tear — to rip

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