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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. key — for a lock
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. present — a gift
  9. drill — army training
  10. race — humankind
  11. bat — the animal
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. race — the arms race
  14. present — there
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. saw — the tool
  18. key — in music
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. key — the most important part
  21. present — the time now
  22. drill — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. race — a contest

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