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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ball — a great time
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. key — for a lock
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. key — in music
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mug — a cup
  24. fork — in a road

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