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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. spring — of water
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. kid — child
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — electric
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. fork — in a road
  15. key — for a lock
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a match
  18. key — in music
  19. plane — a tool
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. current — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. spring — the season

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