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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mine — for digging
  5. deal — to handle
  6. bound — certain
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bound — obliged
  9. band — a ring
  10. chip — to eat
  11. key — for a lock
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chip — for betting
  15. band — a music group
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bound — tied together
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pound — a weight
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. key — in music
  24. pound — for dogs

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