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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. game — a match
  5. court — of law
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. key — for a lock
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. key — in music
  14. court — of a king
  15. track — to keep track
  16. court — for sport
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. game — wild animals
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. mine — for digging
  24. coach — a trainer

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