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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.

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: key · season · present · ball · file · mine · pass · wind

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. present — a gift
  3. key — in music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — the most important part
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. wind — moving air
  9. season — in sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. pass — a permit
  15. present — the time now
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. present — there
  21. file — a document
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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