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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. snap — to click
  4. court — for sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bulb — for light
  9. court — of law
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. object — a thing
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bark — to shout
  15. key — in music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. court — of a king
  18. object — to protest
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. object — an aim
  24. straw — dry grass

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