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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. file — a line of people
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. key — the most important part
  5. rash — hasty
  6. staff — employees
  7. key — in music
  8. file — a tool
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. file — a document
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. staff — employees
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. cell — a phone
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. staff — a stick
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cell — in biology

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