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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 124 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — in music
  3. tube — the underground
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. snap — to click
  6. drill — the tool
  7. present — the time now
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. present — there
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. key — the most important part
  16. tube — a container
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. drill — a practice
  21. present — a gift
  22. drill — army training
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — a garden tool

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