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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. land — ground
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. land — a country
  16. mate — a friend
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. key — for a lock
  20. bark — to shout
  21. key — in music
  22. land — to come down
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. wave — with your hand

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