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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. key — in music
  9. game — a match
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. branch — a division
  14. game — wild animals
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wake — a trail
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. key — for a lock
  24. lash — to lash out

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