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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. key — in music
  3. mate — a friend
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mate — a partner
  6. key — the most important part
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. drill — a practice
  9. kid — child
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. drill — the tool
  12. spring — the season
  13. drill — army training
  14. spring — of water
  15. mate — to breed
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. key — for a lock
  18. stick — to attach or keep to

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