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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. hand — help
  5. scale — in music
  6. squash — to crush
  7. key — for a lock
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. key — the most important part
  10. last — finally
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. kid — to tease
  13. last — to go on
  14. pitch — completely
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. hand — in cards
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. last — final
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. key — in music
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. squash — the sport

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