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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. land — to come down
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pitch — completely
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. row — a line
  7. land — a country
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. net — for catching
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pop — soda
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. key — for a lock
  16. pop — to visit
  17. saw — the tool
  18. snap — to click
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pop — music
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. land — ground
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. key — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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