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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. key — in music
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. key — for a lock
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. fall — the season
  11. snap — to click
  12. game — a match
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fall — to drop
  16. key — the most important part
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bark — to shout
  20. scale — in music
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. fall — to drop
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. scale — size or range

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