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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. ground — crushed
  3. key — the most important part
  4. season — of the year
  5. chip — to eat
  6. hand — in cards
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. chip — for betting
  9. fine — high quality
  10. ground — the earth
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. hand — help
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. ground — a position
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. key — for a lock
  18. fine — all right
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bat — the animal
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bat — for baseball

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