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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · dip · wake · field · march · ground · bank · key

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bank — for money
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. ground — the earth
  5. march — the month
  6. wake — a trail
  7. dip — to sink
  8. chest — of your body
  9. field — for sport
  10. chest — a box
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chest — of your body
  13. key — in music
  14. key — for a lock
  15. march — the month
  16. bank — of a river
  17. ground — a position
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. field — farmland
  20. march — music
  21. field — a subject
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bank — for money
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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