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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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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: stem · fan · game · scale · key · march · mark · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. march — music
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. march — the month
  7. key — the most important part
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. key — for a lock
  10. mark — a trace
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. last — final
  16. march — the month
  17. scale — size or range
  18. game — a match
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. last — finally
  22. mark — a grade
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. key — in music

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