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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. key — in music
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. key — for a lock
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. object — to protest
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. object — a thing
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. kid — to tease
  19. object — an aim
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wake — a trail
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wake — before a funeral

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