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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. land — ground
  3. object — to protest
  4. tear — from crying
  5. land — a country
  6. object — an aim
  7. game — a match
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. game — wild animals
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. object — a thing
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to confront
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. face — to point toward
  18. tear — from crying
  19. key — for a lock
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. land — to come down
  22. key — in music
  23. tear — to rip
  24. fan — a supporter

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