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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. craft — boats
  4. track — a song
  5. craft — a skill
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. shower — rain
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. key — the most important part
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. shower — to wash
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. track — a path
  21. key — in music
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. tube — a container

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