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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. hand — in cards
  3. track — to keep track
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. key — for a lock
  6. track — a path
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. track — a song
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mine — for digging
  17. snap — to click
  18. tube — a container
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. key — the most important part
  22. hand — help
  23. key — in music
  24. tube — the underground

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