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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 120 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. key — for a lock
  6. spell — magic
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cap — of ice
  9. key — in music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. season — of the year
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cap — a lid
  17. spell — letters
  18. season — in sport
  19. chest — a box
  20. bark — to shout
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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