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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  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. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. key — for a lock
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. row — a line
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. file — a document
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. file — a line of people
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bat — the animal
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. file — a tool
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mouse — the animal
  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