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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mate — to breed
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rule — a law
  8. field — farmland
  9. object — an aim
  10. key — the most important part
  11. mate — a partner
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — in sport
  14. object — a thing
  15. current — happening now
  16. rule — government
  17. field — a subject
  18. net — for catching
  19. current — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. field — for sport
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. key — in music
  24. mate — a friend

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