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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. key — the most important part
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bark — to shout
  7. net — after costs
  8. wind — moving air
  9. game — a match
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pass — a permit
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. net — for catching
  17. key — in music
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. club — for golf
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. club — for dancing
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. club — a group
  24. key — for a lock

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