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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — to bear
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bat — the animal
  12. file — a document
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bark — to shout
  15. lie — to recline
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. key — in music

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