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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. land — ground
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. key — in music
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bound — certain
  10. land — a country
  11. kid — child
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bound — tied together
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. key — for a lock
  19. land — to come down
  20. bore — to tire
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pound — a weight

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