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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. spell — magic
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. spell — letters
  8. suit — to fit
  9. kick — in football
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. chair — a leader
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. suit — clothes
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pound — a weight
  21. key — in music
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. spell — a short time
  24. suit — in cards

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