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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. key — the most important part
  3. pop — music
  4. game — a match
  5. pop — to visit
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. key — in music
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. track — a song
  10. object — to protest
  11. key — for a lock
  12. object — a thing
  13. foot — a measure
  14. object — an aim
  15. pop — soda
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. track — a path
  21. cell — in biology
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. fork — in a road

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