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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 116 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rash — a series
  4. saw — the tool
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. hand — help
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rash — hasty
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — in music
  12. bark — to shout
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cell — in biology
  15. band — a ring
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. band — a rubber band

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