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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. key — the most important part
  3. roll — a list
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. key — in music
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. ball — a dance
  9. present — a gift
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — there
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. key — for a lock
  21. shower — rain
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitch — completely

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