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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. last — finally
  5. key — in music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. staff — employees
  11. last — to go on
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bat — the animal
  15. last — final
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. key — the most important part
  19. game — a match
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bear — the animal
  23. staff — employees
  24. bear — the animal

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