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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. squash — to crush
  3. track — a song
  4. last — final
  5. track — a path
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. key — in music
  11. bore — to tire
  12. spring — of water
  13. track — to keep track
  14. foot — a measure
  15. squash — the sport
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bore — to drill
  19. last — to go on
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. key — the most important part
  22. last — finally
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. foot — the bottom

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