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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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. bark — to shout
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. bound — obliged
  13. court — for sport
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bound — certain
  16. stem — to come from
  17. key — in music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — a series
  20. court — of law
  21. current — electric
  22. court — of a king
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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