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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. rest — what's left
  3. chip — to eat
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. spring — the season
  7. scale — size or range
  8. rest — a break
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — in music
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. scale — in music
  14. net — in sport
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. net — for catching
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. spring — of water
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rest — what's left
  24. net — after costs

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