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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. hand — in cards
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rest — what's left
  5. key — the most important part
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. hand — help
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. key — in music
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. key — for a lock
  18. bat — the animal

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