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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. key — for a lock
  3. drill — a practice
  4. kid — child
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. key — in music
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bark — to shout
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. key — the most important part
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. drill — army training

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