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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mate — a partner
  3. press — newspapers
  4. track — a song
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. key — in music
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rash — a series
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. press — to push
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. mate — to breed
  19. key — for a lock
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. press — a publisher
  22. key — the most important part
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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