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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. key — the most important part
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. key — for a lock
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fine — high quality
  11. mark — a grade
  12. pound — a weight
  13. mark — a trace
  14. rush — hurry
  15. kid — child
  16. saw — the tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. drill — a practice
  19. fine — all right
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. pound — for dogs
  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