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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. ground — crushed
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rock — music
  6. key — the most important part
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. file — a tool
  13. ground — the earth
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. ground — a position
  19. key — for a lock
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. scale — size or range
  22. file — a document
  23. key — in music
  24. rock — a stone

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