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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. track — a song
  3. bank — of a river
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. wind — moving air
  6. track — a path
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tube — a container
  9. hand — help
  10. key — the most important part
  11. hand — in cards
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. tube — the underground
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bank — for money
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bank — for money
  24. key — in music

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