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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bound — certain
  3. chair — a leader
  4. court — for sport
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. deal — to handle
  7. key — in music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. prune — to trim
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. key — for a lock
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bound — obliged
  18. court — of law
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. court — of a king
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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