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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. land — to come down
  5. file — a line of people
  6. key — for a lock
  7. land — a country
  8. file — a document
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. mine — for digging
  11. land — ground
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a path
  15. board — to get on
  16. track — a song
  17. board — a committee
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. file — a tool
  21. pit — in a race
  22. key — in music
  23. pit — a hole
  24. mine — an explosive

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