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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 124 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. key — the most important part
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. scale — in music
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. key — in music
  7. game — a match
  8. scale — size or range
  9. key — for a lock
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. row — to paddle
  18. sharp — clever

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