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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. clip — for paper
  3. game — a match
  4. cue — a hint
  5. clip — a video
  6. net — after costs
  7. cue — a signal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. current — happening now
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. cue — for pool
  12. game — wild animals
  13. lean — to bend
  14. key — in music
  15. net — for catching
  16. current — electric
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. clip — to cut
  21. current — of water
  22. fork — in a road
  23. key — the most important part
  24. net — in sport

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