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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. key — for a lock
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. land — a country
  5. track — a path
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. squash — to crush
  8. land — to come down
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. track — a song
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. scale — in music
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. squash — the sport
  16. key — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. key — the most important part
  21. track — to keep track
  22. land — ground
  23. sharp — clever
  24. calf — of the leg

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