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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. craft — boats
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. craft — a skill
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. clip — to cut
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. clip — a video
  13. key — in music
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. club — a group

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