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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — to tease
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. key — in music
  7. sharp — clever
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bound — obliged
  13. key — for a lock
  14. bound — certain
  15. scale — in music
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. kid — child
  19. hand — help
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bound — tied together

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