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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. key — for a lock
  6. plane — a tool
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to sink
  9. craft — boats
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. track — a song
  12. kid — to tease
  13. track — a path
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. capital — a city
  17. kid — child
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. key — in music
  20. craft — a skill
  21. game — a match
  22. track — to keep track
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. craft — a handicraft

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