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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. key — in music
  6. land — ground
  7. key — for a lock
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. file — a document
  11. drill — a practice
  12. saw — the tool
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — happy
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. drill — army training
  18. land — to come down
  19. content — the amount
  20. saw — the tool
  21. land — a country
  22. ball — a dance
  23. drill — the tool
  24. snap — to click

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