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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. net — in sport
  3. game — wild animals
  4. spring — of water
  5. key — the most important part
  6. kid — child
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. spring — a coil
  9. present — the time now
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — an aim
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. net — after costs
  14. game — a match
  15. net — for catching
  16. present — there
  17. spring — the season
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. object — to protest
  22. deal — to handle
  23. present — a gift
  24. deal — a big deal

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