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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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. club — for golf
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. foot — a measure
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. club — a group
  12. spring — of water
  13. key — in music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. club — for dancing
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. key — for a lock
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mine — for digging

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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