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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 120 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. key — for a lock
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. sharp — clever
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. staff — employees
  9. game — a match
  10. key — in music
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. staff — employees
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. swing — music
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. key — the most important part
  24. staff — a stick

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