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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. land — a country
  3. vault — a safe
  4. spell — a short time
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. land — ground
  8. clip — for paper
  9. spell — letters
  10. land — to come down
  11. lean — to bend
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. key — in music
  14. pitch — completely
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. kid — to tease
  18. key — the most important part
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. lean — thin
  21. kid — child
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. spell — magic
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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