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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bore — to tire
  4. key — for a lock
  5. file — a tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kid — child
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bear — the animal
  13. file — a line of people
  14. key — in music
  15. bear — the animal
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. saw — the tool
  21. file — a document
  22. bore — to drill
  23. chest — a box
  24. kid — to tease

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