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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. land — ground
  4. kid — to tease
  5. last — finally
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. drill — a practice
  9. key — in music
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. last — to go on
  14. drill — the tool
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. drill — army training
  18. scale — in music
  19. game — a match
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. last — final
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. scale — for weighing

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