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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. present — there
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. board — to get on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. board — a committee
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. present — a gift
  14. mine — for digging
  15. key — for a lock
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. key — in music
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. present — the time now
  22. tear — to rip
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. bark — to shout

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