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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. degree — an amount
  3. kid — to tease
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. key — in music
  6. last — to go on
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. key — the most important part
  12. degree — from a university
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. key — for a lock
  19. last — final
  20. kid — child
  21. last — finally
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cabinet — ministers

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