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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.

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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: bay · calf · cold · march · clip · key · last · season

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. last — to go on
  3. cold — an illness
  4. clip — for paper
  5. last — final
  6. key — in music
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. clip — to cut
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. clip — a video
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. march — music
  15. key — for a lock
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. march — the month
  18. season — of the year
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. last — finally
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — not warm

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