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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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 — in cards
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. mate — a friend
  5. land — to come down
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mate — a partner
  11. chest — of your body
  12. land — a country
  13. chest — a box
  14. hand — help
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. key — in music
  17. press — newspapers
  18. land — ground
  19. press — to push
  20. key — for a lock
  21. pit — in a race
  22. press — a publisher
  23. pit — a hole
  24. mate — to breed

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