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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. key — the most important part
  3. prune — to trim
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. kid — child
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. key — for a lock
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mate — to breed
  12. pop — music
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pop — soda
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. root — the cause
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. key — in music

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