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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. key — the most important part
  5. object — an aim
  6. bat — the animal
  7. key — for a lock
  8. race — a contest
  9. net — for catching
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. object — a thing
  12. lean — to bend
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — in football
  15. object — to protest
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. race — the arms race
  18. lean — thin
  19. key — in music
  20. present — the time now
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. race — humankind
  24. present — a gift

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