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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 124 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. face — to confront
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. present — a gift
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. present — there
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wax — to grow
  15. squash — to crush
  16. present — the time now
  17. face — part of the head
  18. key — in music
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. face — to point toward
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bore — to tire
  23. key — for a lock
  24. bat — the animal

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