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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. row — a line
  3. mate — a friend
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. row — to paddle
  6. key — in music
  7. court — for sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rush — hurry
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. saw — the tool
  12. court — of a king
  13. bear — the animal
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mate — to breed
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mate — a partner
  22. court — of law
  23. key — for a lock
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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