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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 120 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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. ground — crushed
  5. staff — employees
  6. chip — to eat
  7. staff — a stick
  8. ground — the earth
  9. drill — the tool
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. chip — for betting
  12. key — in music
  13. hand — help
  14. staff — employees
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. key — for a lock
  21. ground — a position
  22. drill — army training
  23. hand — in cards
  24. chip — in a computer

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