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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rock — music
  4. bat — the animal
  5. last — to go on
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. last — final
  11. kid — child
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rock — a stone
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. key — in music
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. kid — to tease
  23. last — finally
  24. bat — for baseball

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