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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. object — to protest
  3. chair — a leader
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bound — tied together
  6. key — for a lock
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. key — in music
  9. can — to be able to
  10. charge — electricity
  11. bat — the animal
  12. charge — a price
  13. bound — obliged
  14. object — a thing
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. can — a tin
  19. object — an aim
  20. charge — in control
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. can — a tin
  23. bound — certain
  24. lash — to lash out

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