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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spell — letters
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. key — for a lock
  6. snap — to click
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. spell — a short time
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spell — magic
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. spring — the season
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. spring — a coil
  23. key — in music
  24. spring — of water

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