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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. can — to be able to
  3. key — in music
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cold — not warm
  7. drill — the tool
  8. key — for a lock
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cold — an illness
  11. clip — a video
  12. hand — help
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. can — a tin
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. can — a tin
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. key — the most important part
  24. clip — to cut

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