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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 116 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: bulb · cell · march · ground · cap · mark · key · row

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  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. march — the month
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cell — in biology
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cap — of ice
  9. row — a line
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — a hat
  13. key — in music
  14. cell — a phone
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bulb — for light
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bulb — for light
  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