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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pass — a permit
  6. spring — the season
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bat — the animal
  10. ground — crushed
  11. spring — of water
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. kick — in football
  14. scale — size or range
  15. ground — the earth
  16. scale — in music
  17. key — in music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. ground — a position
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. spring — a coil

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