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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. can — to be able to
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. key — in music
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. key — for a lock
  10. net — in sport
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wound — an injury
  13. can — a tin
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wound — an injury
  16. can — a tin
  17. game — a match
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. net — for catching
  23. wake — a trail
  24. net — after costs

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