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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 116 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — electricity
  7. key — in music
  8. present — the time now
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. kid — child
  11. net — in sport
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rash — hasty
  14. present — a gift
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rash — a series
  18. net — after costs
  19. wound — an injury
  20. charge — a price
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. net — for catching
  24. present — there

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