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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. mine — for digging
  6. key — for a lock
  7. land — ground
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fall — the season
  11. swing — in golf
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. land — a country
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. key — in music
  18. fall — to drop
  19. land — to come down
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. fall — to drop
  22. swing — music
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bark — of a tree

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