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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bound — obliged
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bound — certain
  10. key — for a lock
  11. row — a line
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. key — in music
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bound — tied together
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. row — to paddle
  18. saw — the tool

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