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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pound — a weight
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a great time
  8. key — for a lock
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. track — a path
  11. swing — music
  12. track — to keep track
  13. clip — to cut
  14. track — a song
  15. swing — to play on
  16. kid — child
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. clip — for paper
  20. key — in music
  21. ball — a dance
  22. clip — a video
  23. swing — in golf
  24. kid — to tease

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