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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. hand — help
  5. staff — employees
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. band — a music group
  8. bark — to shout
  9. race — humankind
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. race — a contest
  14. key — for a lock
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. race — the arms race
  17. key — in music
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pitch — completely
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. hand — in cards
  23. band — a ring
  24. staff — employees

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