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

Word bank: chest · cue · rule · present · march · tear · key · cabinet

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. chest — of your body
  3. key — in music
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. present — the time now
  8. rule — a law
  9. key — for a lock
  10. present — there
  11. cue — a hint
  12. chest — of your body
  13. march — the month
  14. cue — a signal
  15. march — music
  16. rule — government
  17. present — a gift
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — the month
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. chest — a box

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