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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bound — obliged
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. file — a tool
  6. cell — in biology
  7. key — the most important part
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cell — a phone
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bound — tied together
  13. plane — a tool
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. row — a line
  17. kick — in football
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. file — a document
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. file — a line of people
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bound — certain

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