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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. key — the most important part
  3. wind — moving air
  4. key — in music
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. key — for a lock
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. mark — a grade
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. row — a line
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — to trim
  16. row — to paddle
  17. staff — employees
  18. prune — to trim
  19. scale — in music
  20. mark — a trace
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. scale — size or range
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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