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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. key — the most important part
  3. wound — an injury
  4. saw — the tool
  5. track — a song
  6. key — in music
  7. wound — an injury
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. track — a path
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. shower — to wash
  14. key — for a lock
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — in football
  18. pop — soda
  19. track — to keep track
  20. saw — the tool
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. shower — rain
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. kid — to tease

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