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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: key · game · mine · bat · mouse · band · safe · kick

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. band — a ring
  5. key — for a lock
  6. kick — in football
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. band — a music group
  16. game — a match
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. key — in music
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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