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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. game — a match
  3. key — the most important part
  4. tear — from crying
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. key — for a lock
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fine — all right
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. race — the arms race
  13. sharp — clever
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. race — a contest
  18. bat — the animal
  19. race — humankind
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. current — happening now
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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