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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.

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: key · jam · squash · craft · bat · march · rule · shower

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. shower — rain
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. key — for a lock
  8. march — music
  9. rule — government
  10. bat — the animal
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — to wash
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — a law
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. key — in music
  22. march — the month
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — boats

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