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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. court — of law
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. race — humankind
  5. court — for sport
  6. bark — to shout
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. key — the most important part
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. hand — help
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. snap — to click
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. court — of a king
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. race — a contest
  24. key — in music

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