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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. key — for a lock
  3. lean — thin
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pit — a hole
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chip — to eat
  8. ball — a dance
  9. key — the most important part
  10. drill — army training
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bear — the animal
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. lean — to bend
  20. drill — the tool
  21. chest — a box
  22. chip — for betting
  23. drill — a practice
  24. key — in music

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