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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spell — a short time
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ground — the earth
  5. rock — music
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. spell — magic
  10. bulb — for light
  11. key — the most important part
  12. bulb — for light
  13. ground — a position
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — in music
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — to tease
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. rock — a stone
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. spell — letters

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