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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. scale — size or range
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. key — for a lock
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. key — in music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. hand — help
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bark — to shout
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spring — the season
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. spring — of water
  16. key — the most important part
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. scale — in music
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. scale — for weighing

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