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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mark — a grade
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bark — to shout
  15. shower — rain
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stand — to bear
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mark — a trace
  20. key — in music
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. key — for a lock
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. file — a document

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