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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. key — in music
  3. ground — the earth
  4. hand — in cards
  5. staff — employees
  6. key — the most important part
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. ground — crushed
  9. hand — help
  10. ground — a position
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. fork — in a road
  13. staff — employees
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. key — for a lock
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. mine — for digging
  18. hand — part of the body

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