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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. file — a line of people
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. key — for a lock
  7. date — the fruit
  8. current — of water
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. current — electric
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. chip — for betting
  14. key — in music
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. wake — a trail
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. chip — to eat
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. current — happening now
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. fork — in a road

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