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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. ground — a position
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. hand — help
  5. shower — to wash
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wax — to grow
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. shower — rain
  12. clip — a video
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. clip — to cut
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. key — in music
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ball — a great time
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. ground — crushed
  23. key — for a lock
  24. ball — a dance

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