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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. rush — hurry
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cell — in biology
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — in music
  9. ground — the earth
  10. kid — child
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. perch — the fish
  14. ground — a position
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. land — ground
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cell — a phone
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. land — to come down
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. kid — to tease
  24. land — a country

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