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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. lean — thin
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. lean — to bend
  6. court — for sport
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. band — a music group
  9. bark — to shout
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. court — of law
  14. key — for a lock
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. key — in music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. saw — the tool
  21. court — of a king
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. band — a ring
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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