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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: staff · key · pitcher · fan · pit · last · net · race

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. staff — employees
  3. last — to go on
  4. key — for a lock
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. key — the most important part
  8. net — in sport
  9. race — humankind
  10. net — for catching
  11. staff — a stick
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. net — after costs
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pit — a hole
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. race — a contest
  21. pit — in a race
  22. key — in music
  23. staff — employees
  24. last — finally

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