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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 120 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. spring — a coil
  6. foot — a measure
  7. key — for a lock
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. spring — of water
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. spring — the season
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. key — in music
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. mine — for digging
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. fall — the season

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