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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 120 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. shower — to wash
  3. key — for a lock
  4. track — a song
  5. club — for golf
  6. net — after costs
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. key — in music
  10. net — for catching
  11. track — a path
  12. track — to keep track
  13. saw — the tool
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. net — in sport
  19. club — a group
  20. hand — in cards
  21. snap — to click
  22. shower — rain
  23. key — the most important part
  24. hand — help

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