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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. chest — a box
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. chest — of your body
  6. key — in music
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. key — for a lock
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. wax — to grow

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