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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. chest — a box
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. foot — a measure
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. court — of a king
  9. content — happy
  10. chest — of your body
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. content — the amount
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. key — in music
  24. chest — of your 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