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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bass — low music
  4. clip — for paper
  5. snap — to click
  6. bass — the fish
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. track — a song
  11. wax — to grow
  12. track — a path
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. clip — a video
  15. spring — a coil
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. track — to keep track
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. key — in music
  21. spring — of water
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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