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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. land — to come down
  3. key — the most important part
  4. dip — to sink
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. land — ground
  7. spell — a short time
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. prune — to trim
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. key — in music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. sharp — clever
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spell — magic
  19. land — a country
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chest — a box
  22. key — for a lock
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. spell — letters

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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