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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. key — in music
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. key — for a lock
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bark — to shout
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. fork — in a road
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. ground — a position
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. clip — a video

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