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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bark — to shout
  5. tear — to rip
  6. court — for sport
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. tear — from crying
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. key — in music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. chip — to eat
  15. file — a tool
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. file — a document
  18. chip — for betting
  19. wound — an injury
  20. key — for a lock
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. file — a line of people

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