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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. club — for golf
  4. rush — hurry
  5. wind — moving air
  6. club — a group
  7. wind — moving air
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bore — to tire
  16. club — for dancing
  17. key — in music
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bore — to drill
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. race — the arms race
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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