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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. band — a ring
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. hand — help
  7. net — for catching
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. branch — a division
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. shower — rain
  13. rush — hurry
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. key — in music
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. net — after costs
  21. hand — in cards
  22. snap — to click
  23. net — in sport
  24. key — for a lock

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