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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wind — moving air
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. key — in music
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — to eat
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. key — for a lock
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kid — child
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kid — to tease
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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