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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. shower — rain
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bound — certain
  5. row — to paddle
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. key — in music
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pop — to visit
  11. key — for a lock
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. shower — to wash
  14. row — a line
  15. bound — obliged
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pop — music
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. pop — soda
  22. bound — tied together
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

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