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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. drill — the tool
  9. file — a document
  10. key — the most important part
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. drill — a practice
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. row — to paddle
  16. key — in music
  17. drill — army training
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. row — a line
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. key — for a lock
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. kick — in football

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