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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 116 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. key — for a lock
  7. club — a group
  8. shower — to wash
  9. snap — to click
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. club — for dancing
  12. shower — rain
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. row — to paddle
  15. hand — help
  16. track — a song
  17. key — in music
  18. track — to keep track
  19. kid — child
  20. club — for golf
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. key — the most important part
  23. row — a line
  24. hand — in cards

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