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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wake — a trail
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. key — for a lock
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. fall — the season
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rush — hurry
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. key — in music
  16. craft — a skill
  17. game — a match
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. craft — boats
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. game — wild animals
  24. craft — a handicraft

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