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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. hand — help
  3. cap — a lid
  4. chip — for betting
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. cap — of ice
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. chip — to eat
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. court — for sport
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cap — a hat
  15. current — of water
  16. court — of a king
  17. key — in music
  18. court — of law
  19. current — electric
  20. key — for a lock
  21. current — happening now
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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