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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. charge — in control
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rule — a law
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — electricity
  7. rule — government
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. ground — crushed
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. key — in music
  17. ground — a position
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. key — for a lock
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. mine — belonging to me

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