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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. cue — a hint
  3. key — the most important part
  4. court — for sport
  5. cue — for pool
  6. club — for dancing
  7. key — in music
  8. court — of law
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. file — a document
  12. root — the cause
  13. file — a tool
  14. club — for golf
  15. bark — to shout
  16. club — a group
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. key — for a lock
  21. court — of a king
  22. cue — a signal
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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