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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. key — the most important part
  3. current — electric
  4. hand — help
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. hand — in cards
  9. game — a match
  10. key — for a lock
  11. last — to go on
  12. bark — to shout
  13. key — in music
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. prune — to trim
  18. last — finally
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. last — final
  22. prune — to trim
  23. game — wild animals
  24. current — of water

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