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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chest — a box
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mug — to rob
  7. wax — to grow
  8. spring — a coil
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spring — the season
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mug — a face
  16. spring — of water
  17. key — for a lock
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mug — a cup
  20. kid — child
  21. key — in music
  22. kid — to tease
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. prune — to trim

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