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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. drill — army training
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. squash — to crush
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. key — in music
  10. squash — the sport
  11. key — for a lock
  12. stem — to come from
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. plane — a tool
  18. drill — 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