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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 116 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. key — in music
  4. clip — for paper
  5. court — for sport
  6. chip — for betting
  7. clip — to cut
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wind — moving air
  14. staff — a stick
  15. court — of law
  16. key — for a lock
  17. rash — a series
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. court — of a king
  21. clip — a video
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. rash — hasty

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