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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: sharp · wound · key · mine · fine · race · pitch · mark

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. mine — for digging
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. race — a contest
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. fine — all right
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. race — humankind
  10. pitch — completely
  11. mark — a grade
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fine — high quality
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wound — an injury
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mark — a trace

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