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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. kick — in football
  3. field — a subject
  4. object — to protest
  5. key — for a lock
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. key — the most important part
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pop — music
  10. spring — the season
  11. field — farmland
  12. object — an aim
  13. pop — soda
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. spell — a short time
  16. key — in music
  17. spring — a coil
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. spell — magic
  20. pop — to visit
  21. object — a thing
  22. spring — of water
  23. field — for sport
  24. bat — the animal

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