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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. spring — the season
  4. key — for a lock
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. squash — the sport
  11. clip — a video
  12. key — the most important part
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. squash — to crush
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. clip — to cut
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. snap — to click
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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