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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.

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 · ruler · chest · game · wound · ball · bass · clip

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — the most important part
  3. clip — to cut
  4. game — wild animals
  5. ball — a great time
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. key — in music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. bass — low music
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. game — a match
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bass — the fish

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