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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. kid — to tease
  4. key — in music
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. file — a line of people
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. file — a tool
  12. kid — child
  13. bound — tied together
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. land — a country
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. file — a document
  18. saw — the tool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. key — the most important part
  21. land — to come down
  22. saw — the tool
  23. land — ground
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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