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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. kid — to tease
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. dip — to sink
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. lean — thin
  10. key — for a lock
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. kid — child
  16. prune — to trim
  17. key — in music
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. lean — to bend
  22. squash — the sport
  23. foot — a measure
  24. lean — to rest against

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