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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. key — for a lock
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bat — the animal
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. spring — of water
  9. ball — a dance
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. spring — a coil
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. mine — for digging
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. key — the most important part
  16. hand — help
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. spring — the season
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fork — in a road
  22. key — in music
  23. ball — a great time
  24. bat — in an idiom

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