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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. key — for a lock
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. kid — child
  7. key — in music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wind — moving air
  11. toast — bread
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bat — the animal
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. perch — the fish
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. key — the most important part
  24. perch — for a bird

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