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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kid — to tease
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. pit — in a race
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. kid — child
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bat — the animal
  18. press — to push
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — in music
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. press — a publisher

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