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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. perch — the fish
  4. spell — letters
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spell — magic
  7. wound — an injury
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. key — for a lock
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pitch — completely
  14. lie — to recline
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. key — in music
  17. spell — a short time
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — a tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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