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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wax — to grow
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. file — a tool
  15. spell — letters
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bear — the animal
  19. spell — magic
  20. bear — the animal
  21. file — a document
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. key — in music

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