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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. object — to protest
  3. row — a line
  4. chest — a box
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. snap — to click
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. key — in music
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. key — the most important part
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. object — a thing
  15. chest — of your body
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. kick — in football
  18. object — an aim
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bark — to shout
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. chest — of your body

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