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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. mug — a face
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cell — in biology
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. kick — in football
  10. current — of water
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mug — a cup
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. clip — a video
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. mug — to rob
  21. current — happening now
  22. key — in music
  23. current — electric
  24. key — the most important part

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