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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. track — a path
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cell — in biology
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rash — a series
  8. track — a song
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. snap — to click
  12. game — a match
  13. key — for a lock
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. key — the most important part
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cell — a phone
  19. rest — what's left
  20. track — to keep track
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rest — a break
  24. cell — in a prison

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