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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. key — the most important part
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. key — for a lock
  7. stem — to come from
  8. key — in music
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. club — a group
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — music
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. drill — a practice
  23. club — for golf
  24. rock — a stone

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