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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 116 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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. key — for a lock
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. land — ground
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. key — in music
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. land — to come down
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. land — a country
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chair — a leader
  24. patient — a sick person

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