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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. face — to confront
  4. net — for catching
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. spell — a short time
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. spell — letters
  10. net — after costs
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rest — a break
  13. net — in sport
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. face — to point toward
  16. spell — magic
  17. perch — the fish
  18. snap — to click
  19. face — part of the head
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. rest — what's left
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. rest — what's left
  24. key — in music

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