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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. kick — in football
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. race — humankind
  6. key — for a lock
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cue — for pool
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. key — the most important part
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. file — a tool
  14. key — in music
  15. race — the arms race
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bat — the animal
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. race — a contest
  23. cue — a signal
  24. file — a document

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