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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. key — in music
  9. chip — for betting
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cold — an illness
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. chip — to eat
  15. tube — a container
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. track — to keep track
  20. shower — rain
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. tube — the underground

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