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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 116 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. shower — rain
  8. face — to confront
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. ground — a position
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bat — the animal
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. face — to point toward
  18. key — for a lock
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. shower — to wash
  21. face — part of the head
  22. staff — employees
  23. key — in music
  24. staff — employees

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