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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. ball — a great time
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. plane — a tool
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pound — a weight
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. file — a tool
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bear — the animal
  17. key — the most important part
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bear — the animal
  20. file — a document
  21. wind — moving air
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. key — in music
  24. pound — to hit hard

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