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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bat — the animal
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. spring — of water
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. saw — the tool
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. scale — size or range
  13. spring — the season
  14. key — the most important part
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. spring — a coil
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. lie — to recline
  24. mine — belonging to me

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