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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. ball — a dance
  4. file — a tool
  5. pass — a permit
  6. net — after costs
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. court — of law
  9. file — a document
  10. cell — a phone
  11. ball — a great time
  12. net — for catching
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. key — in music
  17. court — of a king
  18. file — a line of people
  19. court — for sport
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. net — in sport

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