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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. dip — to sink
  4. key — in music
  5. track — a song
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cell — a phone
  11. track — to keep track
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cell — in biology
  14. land — to come down
  15. key — for a lock
  16. season — in sport
  17. land — ground
  18. perch — the fish
  19. land — a country
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. track — a path
  22. season — of the year
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. season — to add flavour

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