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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. race — humankind
  3. hand — help
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. hand — in cards
  6. ball — a great time
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. ground — a position
  9. race — a contest
  10. lean — thin
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. lean — to bend
  15. key — for a lock
  16. key — in music
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. ground — the earth
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. tear — from crying
  21. race — the arms race
  22. sharp — clever
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ground — crushed

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